Centre County introduced new ES&S voting machines in the primary on May 21, 2019.
Min Xian / WPSU
Centre County introduced new ES&S voting machines in the primary on May 21, 2019.
Min Xian / WPSU
From The Context, PA Post’s weekday email newsletter:
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.
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.
The days of journalism’s one-way street of simply producing stories for the public have long been over. Now, it’s time to find better ways to interact with you and ensure we meet your high standards of what a credible media organization should be.