The Philadelphia Election Commission’s Leadership Change Has Bolstered Election Integrity

There was a change of leadership earlier this month on the three-member Philadelphia Election Commission, which includes two Democrats and a Republican, the body that oversees elections in Pennsylvania’s largest city and county. With the move, power has been devolved to each Commissioner, including the Republican member, after a Democratic Commissioner and the sole GOP member worked together to oust the Democratic Chairman, who had centralized power and planned to increase the power of the chair further. Each member will now have the power to hire staff, and election administration and operations will be managed separately. The Republican Commissioner is a protégé of Al Schmidt. Schmidt is the elections watchdog I have posted about who is now serving as Pennsylvania Secretary of State, the department with responsibility for state elections. He uncovered election fraud committed to the benefit of Democrats in the overwhelming majority in Philadelphia, but also bravely rejected the false claims of election fraud Donald Trump and his supporters about the 2020 General Election for presidential and vice-presidential Electors in Pennsylvania, which Trump lost, and for which Schmidt suffered the ad hominem attacks and physical threats that opponents of Trump typically experience. Trump’s loss in the Keystone State, as in other States, was upheld by Republican federal Judges and members of Congress, in addition to being validated by officers within the Trump Administration with relevant responsibilities. With the change of leadership on the Philadelphia Election Commission, election integrity versus both the usual cheating by Democrats and the false claims of election fraud by Trump supporters has thus been bolstered, which will help safeguard the election process in the Commonwealth for the General Election in November, including for Electors.