League of Women Voters of Bucks County co-presidents Monica Weninger and Jean Weston submitted the following statement:
“The League of Women Voters of Bucks County regrets that, despite every effort, we were unable to schedule candidate forums for any of the 10 Pennsylvania House seats which will be on the ballots of Bucks County voters this November.
“Voters have come to expect to see their candidates being asked questions submitted by the public and by the League so that they can determine which candidate best reflects their views on issues of local importance.
“This year, due to the pandemic, live, in-person events were impossible. Following the precedents of other Leagues around the country, the Bucks County League attempted to schedule virtual forums hosted on Zoom which would have been available for members of the public to view in the weeks leading up to the election. Unfortunately, despite many efforts, we were unable to attain mutual confirmation from candidates for any of the 10 races.
“Voters have expressed to the League that the most informative candidate events are when all candidates for an office are participating in a forum for the specific position they are running for. The League has a long-standing policy that these forums can only take place if at least two candidates agree to attend. We may be forced to transition to other formats that are less satisfactory for voters, if candidates fail to prioritize appearing before voters in nonpartisan forums.
In the meantime, we urge voters to seek out our published Voters Guide and our online guide on Vote411.org to see information about the candidates and their responses to several League questions.”
