News + editorial to start your week | Broad + Liberty Weekly Reads

Good morning and welcome to Broad + Liberty's Weekly Reads.

Subscribe to our daily email list ([link removed]) and get the best of Broad + Liberty delivered straight to your inbox.


** 1. Pennsylvania counties must examine election process improvements ahead of 2024 general elections ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


From The Editors

Act 77, the 2019 law that revolutionized Pennsylvania’s elections and ushered in mail-in voting, has made the elections process in the commonwealth like that of a river after a flood: the cause of the roiling might be over, but the sediment has not yet settled back down, and much of the water remains unclear.

This is the unsteady situation the commonwealth finds itself in as we are now barrelling towards the 2024 election, one in which Pennsylvanians’ votes will likely decide the presidency. As of this publishing, the website RealClearPolitics.com averages several polls which show former President Trump tied with Vice President Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania — the most narrow margin of any swing state.

If Pennsylvania is decided by less than one percent as it was in 2016, we guarantee there will be a new hurricane of scrutiny as partisans look for advantages.

Why It Matters. Our investigation shows that the system has become too opaque and overly complex given the divided nature of our electorate. Elements of standardization are desperately needed.

County officials and election directors are operating in an era in which not one but two objectives are paramount: conduct an election in which all legally cast votes are correctly counted, and also carry out the first objective in such a transparent manner that when a curious public examines the methods, means, and actions of the election officials, the public at large will have little choice but to be satisfied with the results.

Today, too many voters are skeptical. And discerning readers may be forgiven if, upon reading this report, they are confused, or otherwise unsatisfied with its conclusions. Therein lies the problem, we now have a system that is not sufficiently open or verifiable, which undermines the integrity of the voting process regardless of the efficacy of any counting process.

But, there is hope, because enough lessons have been learned in recent years to make these two democracy-defining objectives a reality.

Continue Reading ([link removed])


** 2. Christine Flowers: Young, urban — and Republican? ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By Christine Flowers

Tuesday night found me in an unusual place: surrounded by passionate conservatives gathered to cheer on the Republican presidential candidate at a debate watch.

Evan Bochetto, son of my friend and legendary attorney George Bochetto and a member of the Philadelphia Young Republicans, had reached out a few days earlier to invite me to an event held at Hotel Monaco in Society Hill, a few hundred yards from the site of the presidential debate. When I arrived, I was ushered into a standing room only venue packed with Gen Z and Millennial voters enjoying food, drinks and eager to view the debate in two large television screens that had been set up in the hotel’s Lafayette Room.

But even more surprising than the number of attendees which I would put at close to 500 was the composition of the crowd: this 62-year-old columnist was by far one of the oldest women in the room. The vast majority of the female attendees were about half my age.

Why It Matters. I addressed the elephant in the room: Kamala Harris. I asked Chelsea, Allyson and Shannon how they felt about the Vice President being a woman and whether this had any impact on their vote. To a person, they stated that it was insulting to believe that women will vote for a woman simply because of her gender. As Shannon said, “It’s pandering.”

This is a theme that I’ve heard from other women, not just Gen Z and millennials. When I was on an Inside Story panel a few weeks ago, the subject of the “suburban woman vote” was broached at the table, and the two women at the table, myself and Laura Manion, had to remind the male panelists that we do not vote as a monolith and that, no, abortion is not the litmus test for the majority of educated voters.

Continue Reading ([link removed])
Sponsored Partner Content


** 3. Lightning Round
------------------------------------------------------------
* Former Delco inmate sues county for stabbing attack while in prison ([link removed])
* AOC’s $11 million in Facebook ads is a lot of political cancer ([link removed])
* Anti-Bresnahan ad misinforms on abortion ([link removed])
* Andy Bloom: Trump flounders but Harris doesn’t close ([link removed])
* Thom Nickels: Who is an artist? ([link removed])
* Luke Bernstein: Pro-growth reforms a ‘game-changer’ for business competitiveness ([link removed])


** 4. Candidate Spotlight Series
------------------------------------------------------------
* Liz Piazza (HD-165) ([link removed])


** 5. What we're reading
------------------------------------------------------------

The ABC moderators in Tuesday’s debate were bad. But were they so bad that they killed the entire concept of a presidential debate? It’s quite possible, Emily Jashinksky wrote this week for UnHerd ([link removed]) . The CNN debate in June saw moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash act with impressive even-handedness. ABC’s decision to “factcheck” in real time — and only for one candidate — destroyed for conservatives whatever trust Tapper and Bash had earned in a mainstream media organization’s ability to run a fair contest.

Broad + Liberty is funded exclusively by readers like you.

Your generous support ensures that Broad + Liberty can bring you stories and opinions that Pennsylvania’s mainstream media would rather leave unheard. Please consider making a contribution today. If you would like your gift to be used to help us cover a specific story or subject, please let us know in the contribution form or at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

As always, gifts made to Broad + Liberty are 100% tax deductible!

Thank you, dear reader, for your steadfast support of our independent, broad-minded brand of local journalism. We could not do this without you.

With gratitude,

— The Editors at Broad + Liberty
Support Broad + Liberty ([link removed])
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

============================================================
Copyright © 2024 Broad + Liberty, All rights reserved.
You're getting Broad + Liberty updates due to your interest in our site – and local stories for free thinkers in the Philly region and beyond.

Our mailing address is:
Broad + Liberty
323 West Front Street
Suite 200
Media, PA 19063
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.

Broad and Liberty, Inc. is a Pennsylvania Domestic Nonprofit Corporation classifed as a public charity under Internal Revenue Code Section 501 (c) (3).
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]