When deciding between two candidates, their past actions tend to be fairly reasonable indicators of what course of action he/she may take on similar issues in the future. And while the Voter ID Law of 2012 is officially dead, if Republicans maintain their control of both the State House and Senate, who knows what next scheme may be cooked up in order to disenfranchise poor, non-white, elderly, Democrat-leaning and/or disadvantaged voters in the Commonwealth. In the race for the 14th Senatorial District, the choice is between Kathi Cozzone, a voter protector and Senator John Rafferty, a voter suppressor.
As a Chester County Commissioner, Kathi Cozzone has worked hard to protect voter's rights--just ask the Lincoln University students and residents assigned to the Lower Oxford East Precinct. Cozzone, one of three Chester County Commissioners and the lone Democrat, voted her conscience in September 2008 when the Board of Elections considered a petition signed by both local Democrats and Republicans to relocate the polling place from a smaller, inadequate facility to a previously used site in a gymnasium on the nearby Lincoln University campus. Listening to the concerns of her constituents, she voted in favor of the move because the proposed location was safer, more accessible, and overall better equipped to accommodate the 1,000+ voters who were expected to turn out in November. Cozzone explained her decision to the Daily Local:"I think that moving it to Lincoln University gives us the opportunity to provide a safe environment for the voters, to provide a timely environment for the voters and to get all the voters to vote."
However, Republican Commissioners Carol Aichele (now PA's current Secretary of the Commonwealth) and Terence Farrell both voted against the move for partisan reasons but cited flimsy excuses and exaggerated "concerns" about the relocation plan to justify denial of the petition. There were 1,556 ballots cast at the Lower Oxford East polling place on Election Night 2008 --- over 500 more than initially projected. Wait times were from six to eight hours because there were only six voting booths, one ballot scanner and one restroom. In April 2009, there was a similar proposal and the Republican Commissioners collectively chose to ignore the legitimate concerns of the people while, once again, Commissioner Cozzone was the only dissenter. Subsequently, the County was sued (see English, et al. v. Chester County) because of the extremely long wait times and hazardous conditions at the polling place, and was settled in favor of the Plaintiffs, wasting thousands of tax dollars on a lawsuit that could have easily been prevented.
In an August 2010 Daily Local Article, Commissioner Cozzone remarked on the outcome of the case: "When all was said and done, the right resolution to the issue of Lower Oxford East's polling place was reached. The recent settlement will allow all the precinct's residents to vote in a location with good parking, plenty of space and a safe place to wait in line. While I am pleased with the settlement, I would be remiss if I did not point out that this outcome was available to the County before legal action was taken, and taxpayer money was spent."
Aside from better accessibility for voters, Commissioners Aichele and Farrell should have listened to Cozzone because moving the polling place back to Lincoln University was not only the right thing to do, it would have been more fiscally responsible to take care of the issue before a lawsuit was filed.
In complete contrast to Cozzone's history of standing up for Voting Rights,Senator John Rafferty has consistently voted to disenfranchise voters in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Senator Rafferty's Support of GOP Voter Suppression Tactics:
March 2012 - voted in favor of the Voter ID Law (which has since been stricken and a request to re-hear the case denied) See Applewhite, et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al.
December 2011 - voted in favor of the gerrymandering of district lines politely referred to as "Congressional Redistricting", with the first iteration of the map being tossed by the PA Supreme Court
The Voter ID and Congressional Redistricting Bills were both GOP driven power plays to stifle the vote of certain cross-sections of Pennsylvanians who they perceived to be more likely to vote for Democrats. The stringent Voter ID Law was falsely presented to Pennsylvanians as a necessary safeguard to prevent in-person voting fraud, a theoretical problem that has no basis in actual, documented events. Regardless of whether it was Senator Rafferty's intent to disenfranchise voters or if he was simply voting along party lines, support of both the Voter ID law and Redistricting has negatively impacted thousands of Pennsylvanians statewide. Rafferty evidently did not see that it was not in his constituents' best interests for him to support Voter ID and Redistricting.
It is time for meaningful change in the 44th State Senatorial District, starting with a Senator who will fight to preserve his/her constituents' well-being and civil rights and not ignore glaring injustices in order to appease his/her political party. Kathi Cozzone's actions as Commissioner strongly suggest that she can and will stand up for her constituents' rights in Harrisburg as she has in Chester County.