You’re asking, we’re answering your questions about the election

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  Staff reporting

WITF is partnering with other public radio stations across the country in an initiative called America Amplified Election 2024.

The initiative is hosted by WFYI in Indianapolis and is funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to support community engagement journalism in traditionally underserved areas. The initiative builds on a similar project in 2022 to help public media stations provide critical information about voting during the midterm elections.

Through an embedded form on our website, we’re asking you to let us know what questions you have about the election process, as well as what question you would like our reporters to ask candidates. Working with America Amplified, we’ll do our best to answer the process questions. We’ll ask some of your candidate questions when we have the opportunity to do so.

Here are some of the questions you asked, and the answers.

• Vouchers: I like to think all of our elementary, middle, and high school students are receiving similar education in history, literature, etc. My fear is vouchers will use tax dollars and various versions will be taught. Your thoughts?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• The issues I care about are paid family leave, universal low cost preK, preventing gun violence/ book bans, broadband internet, healthcare and mental health, and codifying the right to abortion and all sexual and reproductive healthcare

   

   

  Those are definitely issues we’re hearing about from voters, and we’ll keep them on our list of what to ask candidates about.

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• You shared: How VP Harris and Gov. Shapiro are going to spin Gov. S’s waffling on School Choice issues, esp. his favoring vouchers before the election and then largely reversing his position. Ditto other issues like policing, before & after. Moderate?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• You shared: How can we get religion out of government and classrooms? It is so damaging to Democracy. How can we remove “bought” Supreme Court justices? And expand the Court?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• My questions for statewide candidates would be what they are doing to tighten up PA’s loose campaign finance and gift laws. In particular, their position on HB2433 that would help prevent foreign money from being spent in PA elections.

   

   

  We’ll add this to the list of questions we want to get in front of candidates. We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• Is having a secular government and freedom of religion important to you? How will you protect separation of church and state? How will you keep balance of power and keep supreme court from making laws?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• Do you trust women to made decisions about their own reproductive health including abortion? What are your personal beliefs about abortion and how do I trust that will you protect a women’s right to choice over your personal beliefs?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• What are your top bipartisan agenda items? I.e., initiatives where you know you have common ground across the political aisle and you, in good faith, want to work with your counterparts to enact change. What is your plan to move forward?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• My question is where and when did we become a Democracy when the founding Father’s established a Republic.

   

   

  Thanks for writing. There’s a lot of information out there (much of which I’m sure you’ve seen) that defines the U.S. as a constitutional republic that is broadly referred to as a “democracy.” A couple of good stories on this are here (from the National Constitution Center) and here (from NPR).

  Thanks,

  Scott Blanchard

  Director of Journalism

• Could you please direct me to updates about the current status of the investigation into Rep. Scott Perry’s involvement in the plans to overturn the 2020 election, and the status of the voting machine issues in Fulton County?

  Here is our latest story on the voting machines in Fulton County: https://www.witf.org/2024/02/23/pennsylvania-seeks-legal-costs-from-county-that-let-outsiders-access-voting-machines-to-help-trump/

  Here is our latest story on Scott Perry: https://www.witf.org/2024/01/03/lawsuit-aims-to-keep-pennsylvania-congressman-off-ballot-over-constitutions-insurrection-clause/

  You can find more coverage of Perry here: https://www.witf.org/tag/scott-perry/

• What will Republicans do to move away from Trump and start addressing lies by the right? How are they going to bring integrity back to the party and help regain trust in elections? How will they work with the left to move PA & U.S. forward?

   

   

  We’re interested in talking with registered Republicans about these questions, and we’re always looking to connect with people of all political views. If you know of anyone you could help us connect with on these issues, we’d certainly welcome hearing from you.

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• Given that climate change is killing more people than wars, gun violence, and abortion combined, what are your plans to seriously address climate change in the Commonwealth?

   

   

  Thanks for the question. We’ll definitely work to ask candidates how they plan to address climate change. In the meantime, we’d like to invite you to follow the ongoing climate coverage we’re doing, including from WITF climate reporter Rachel McDevitt. You can also join Rachel’s texting club (free to sign up), where you can stay connected/ask her questions/give her coverage ideas.

  And, check out Rachel’s latest: A project about how a Washington state community dealt with the upcoming closure of a coal-fired power plant, and whether there are lessons for Pa.

• Donald Trump proclaims to NATO members, “Pay your bills.” I’d like to know how many times Trump didn’t pay his bills. Example -the man who furnished Atlantic City Casino with pianos for which he was never paid. Even Giuliani claims not paid

   

   

  This is not something WITF would cover, but we can point you to some very good reporting on it:In 2016, USATODAY did an extensive look at this issue: “At least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments, and other government filings reviewed by the USA TODAY NETWORK, document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work.”
  Here’s a more recent story regarding Trump’s social media network.

  Hope that helps.

• What is/are the circumstance(s)/condition(s) when a voter would be required to submit a Provisional Ballot (PB), what are the procedures for determining the validity of a PB, and how can one find out whether their PB was counted?

   

   

  We published story about this question here. Also:

  This page lists some examples in which case a voter might cast a provisional ballot and also has directions for how to check to be sure your ballot was counted: https://www.vote.pa.gov/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Voting-by-Provisional-Ballot.aspx

  This document outlines some of the procedures for reviewing provisional ballots: https://www.dos.pa.gov/VotingElections/OtherServicesEvents/Documents/2024-ProvisionalBallots-Guidance-2.1.pdf

• Science tells us that we are in a very precarious position related to human induced climate change. Our window to address it is closing. How will you consistently make clear where candidates stand on this important issue?

   

   

  We’ll definitely work to ask candidates how they plan to address climate change. In the meantime, we’d like to invite you to follow the ongoing climate coverage we’re doing, including from StateImpact Pennsylvania reporter Rachel McDevitt. You can also join Rachel’s texting club (free to sign up), where you can stay connected/ask her questions/give her coverage ideas. And, check out Rachel’s latest: A project about how a Washington state community dealt with the upcoming closure of a coal-fired power plant, and whether there are lessons for Pa.

• I’m concerned that Congress has defunded internet access for rural Communities. I want to hear McCormicks solution and his stand on internet access. Then what he wants to do for better education opportunities state wide. Same ? For Casey.

   

   

  Where Casey and McCormick stand on rural internet is on our list of stories to pursue. News Director Randy Parker and Capitol Bureau Chief Ben Wasserstein have discussed it. We’ll let you know of developments.

• If elected, would you do everything within your power to ensure that all laws and government agencies adhere to America’s founding principle of separation of church and state? Why or why not?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• Is having a secular government and freedom of religion important to you? How will you protect separation of church and state? How will you keep balance of power and keep supreme court from making laws?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• Do you trust women to made decisions about their own reproductive health including abortion? What are your personal beliefs about abortion and how do I trust that will you protect a women’s right to choice over your personal beliefs?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• What are your top bipartisan agenda items? I.e., initiatives where you know you have common ground across the political aisle and you, in good faith, want to work with your counterparts to enact change. What is your plan to move forward?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• I own 3 electric vehicles. Cost per mile is a fraction of what my old ICE vehicles cost me. My concern is that politicians in PA are anti-EV.. I feel that renters should have the right to charge at their home, as other states have done.

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• At what point in the development of a fetus, do you believe that laws should protect and apply to that fetus as a human life? In other words, at what point should the law view both the mother and fetus as human life?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• If elected, what will you do to permanently reduce gun violence within your elected jurisdiction?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• Gen Ass’y candidates: Do you support or oppose an Article V second-pathway “Convention of States” (not via U.S. Congress) to amend the U.S. Constitution, such as Sen Eichelberger’s Resolution 133 in 2017? See: https://defendourconstitution.

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• Gen Assembly candidates: Have you ever interacted with ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council)? See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• What specific actions need to be taken to deal with the effects of the climate crisis? How will you protect women’s reproductive rights and access to voting? What steps do you propose to reverse growing income inequality and fair taxation

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

• PA has the fourth most unfair tax system in the country, according to a national organization. Low-income people pay twice the percentage of their earnings in taxes as the wealthiest among us. How should PA make its tax system more fair?

   

   

  We appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will help inform our election coverage.

What questions do you have?