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For Immediate
Release
3/13/07
CONTACT:
DONALD HOUSER
(717) 787-1377
PA
Senate Republican Communications
(717) 787-6725
Senate Policy Committees Hold Public
Hearing on 2008 Presidential Primary Date Change
AUDIO
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VIDEO OF HEARING (RUNNING TIME 1 HOUR 51 MINUTES)
(HARRISBURG) – The Senate
Majority Policy Committee and the Senate Minority
Policy Committee held a joint public hearing today to
discuss efforts to move the 2008 Presidential Primary
to an earlier date.
"This is a somewhat unique
hearing that reflects the bipartisan interest in
making sure Pennsylvania voters have a say in
selecting a president," said Senator Jake Corman
(R-34), who chairs the
Senate Majority Policy Committee.
Testifying before the
committees were Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro
Cortes, as well as representatives from Republican and
Democratic State Committees, the County Commissioners
Association, and Pennsylvanians for Effective
Government.
Supporters of moving the
primary from the fourth Tuesday in April to an earlier
date note that, despite Pennsylvania being the
sixth-largest state by population, 42 other states
held their primary or caucuses before Pennsylvania in
2004.
Corman noted that 33
states have scheduled primaries or caucuses in
February. Secretary Cortes said today that the Rendell
administration advocates changing the 2008
Pennsylvania primary date to February 5.
Douglas Hill, executive
director of the County Commissioners Association of
Pennsylvania, said his organization opposes the move.
He said an earlier primary would affect the ability of
county elections offices to enforce time frames for
election-related activities, such as voter
registration, candidate petition circulation, overseas
and military ballot processing, and poll preparation.
Robert Gleason, chairman
of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, said he
opposes moving the primary date because it would place
greater significance on name recognition, providing an
advantage to candidates who are already well known or
able to raise the most amount of money in a short
period of time.
Abraham Amoros,
Pennsylvania Democratic Party Policy and
Communications Director, said his committee supports
an earlier primary in the hopes of making Pennsylvania
more relevant in a presidential election.
Pennsylvanians for Effective Government President
David Patti discussed the possible costs and
economic benefits of an earlier primary. A February
primary, he noted, would require county elections
offices to begin work on the 2008 election cycle
during the November 2007 elections, possibly leading
to increased administrative costs. While presidential
primary campaigns can generate approximately $250,000
a day in economic benefits across the state, he said,
the figure could be lower if Pennsylvania is one of
many holding primaries at the same time.
Concerns were also raised
regarding the ability of school boards to submit
budgets in time to meet an earlier primary date.
The joint committee did
not consider any specific legislation. Secretary
Cortes said legislation would have to be in place by
late June for changes to take effect in time for the
2008 primary season.
Senators Corman said the
committee chairs will work with Secretary Cortes to
develop legislation to address the concerns of all
interest groups, including school boards and counties.
"We want to make sure the
voice of Pennsylvania voters is heard when selecting
the next president of the United States, but we want
to do it in a way that minimizes disruption for
counties and school boards," said Corman. "I'm hopeful
that if we work on this in an open, bipartisan
fashion, we can craft legislation that strikes the
right balance."
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