This post is paid advertising by Gebhard for Senate.

In this hyper partisan political environment we find ourselves in, I think there are some fundamental ideas that everyone can agree on. At the top of that list is Election Reform. Nobody should feel disenfranchised. Especially with such an important constitutional right as voting. A right that hundreds of thousands of Americans have fought and died to protect.

There should not be one citizen that feels their vote does not count or the system is unfair. The Governor’s office allowed the newly passed Act 77 to become a vehicle in which the Democratic party weaponized voting. The PA Department of State did not implement Act 77 as it was intended by the democratically elected General Assembly. Instead, the Governor’s office and the liberal PA Supreme Court issued decision after decision attacking the integrity of our electoral process. For instance, in-person voters and mail-in voters should be treated equally; signature verification is a must. Everyone must be treated equally under the eyes of the law, there cannot be less stringent rules for mail-in voters than for the folks that show up at the polls!

The Pennsylvania Department of State also forced counties to put out “drop boxes” where mail-in ballots could be collected, this is a perfect way to promote ballot harvesting. They also extended the deadline to receive ballots with no postmark until three days after Election Day. Some counties allowed a process where ballots could be “cured” while other counties discarded those same ballots. How is it fair to the citizens of Pennsylvania to allow some counties to count votes one way while it is illegal in others? Each county needs to play by the same set of rules.

We need a massive dose of common sense when it comes to how we vote in Pennsylvania. That’s why I support the reinstitution of Voter ID laws. You can’t buy cold medicine, video games or even get the COVID vaccine without ID. We are at a point where we can easily deliver a legal ID to anyone who requires one. The validity of our elections here in Pennsylvania never need to be questioned again. Our next state senator needs to go to Harrisburg and fight to restore faith in our election system in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Chris Gebhard is the Republican nominee for the Special Election for Senate District 48 on May 18. Senate District 48 is comprised of all of Lebanon County and parts of Dauphin and York counties.