Here’s who profits from Pa.’s new voting machine requirement

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Min Xian / WPSU

Centre County introduced new ES&S voting machines in the primary on May 21, 2019.

From The Context, PA Post’s weekday email newsletter:

So far, 18 counties picked the same company

Min Xian / WPSU

Centre County introduced new ES&S voting machines in the primary on May 21, 2019.

• A reader wanted to know who stands to profit from the sale of voting machines in Pennsylvania. So fellow PA Post reporter Emily Previti and I looked into it.

• As of early May, at least 29 counties had taken what the Department of State considers “official action” to replace their voting machines. Of those, 18 picked industry giant ES&S at an estimated cost of $48 million total. In Philly, the selection of an ES&S system has received a lot of criticism.

• Emily and I are planning more coverage about the new voting machine requirement. She traveled to Montgomery County last week to see the rollout of new machines. I’m curious whether the requirement will go through in time for 2020 as planned, particularly for counties that already have voter-verified paper records. If you have a question or an idea, feel free to drop us a line at the Listening Post.

Best of the rest

Tom Downing / WITF

The Pennsylvania state Capitol.

• Lawmakers reported receiving more than $83,000 in free trips last year, plus gifts, alcohol and free meals, Mark Scolforo reports for The Associated Press. Destinations included Taiwan, Israel, Seattle and Key West, Florida.

• WESA’s Lucy Perkins took a look at the debate over a $16 billion bailout for farmers amid an ongoing trade dispute with China. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau said farmers “would like to have the markets back: That’s where they would like their money to be coming from.”

• The U.S. Supreme Court is staying out of the debate over whether allowing transgender students to use the facilities that match their gender identity violates the rights of other students. That should be of interest to people in the Eastern Lancaster County School District, where board members recently delayed a “biological sex” policy.