Fumo Lobbying for Farnese; Doubts About Voting Systems

Both the Daily News and the Inquirer report today that State Sen. Vince Fumo has begun lobbying hard to get Larry Farnese elected to succeed him as senator in the district that includes Center City and much of South Philadelphia. Bob Warner in the Daily News reports that Fumo has been talking with local ward leaders; Joseph Gambardello in the Inky says Fumo has been pitching Farnese to other legislators. "If the Senator wants to support my campaign in any way, I'll treat him in way I treat any other supporter," Farnese told Warner. The Farnese campaign this week said it received endorsements and a pledge of $250,000 from 13 Democratic Senators considered close to Fumo, Warner reports. That seems a lot better than displaying a bumper sticker like any other supporter.

Rep. Babette Josephs of the House State Government Committee is not quite sure that Pennsylvania's voting systems will be able to flawlessly handle all the extra voting business they get on April 22, when a record turnout is possible, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I do not have 100 percent confidence," Josephs said. "Her chief concern is whether up to 170,000 new voters, most of them Democrats, would be allowed to vote if they show up without ID or report to the wrong polling place. She's worried about availability of provisional ballots, voting machines working and whether results will be counted properly in Republican-controlled counties with Democratic-majority cities."

Meanwhile, the Bucks County Courier Times reports today on mix-ups with absentee ballots for voters who have changed their party affiliations. Again the snafu is attributed to the extraordinary interest in the April 22 primary.