Latest news with #SURE
Press and Journal
21-05-2025
- Health
- Press and Journal
Football clubs across the north of Scotland unite in bid to raise £100,000 for new urological cancer unit
Football clubs across the north and north-east are coming together to support a new unit to improve the diagnosis and treatment of urological cancers. Charity UCAN Aberdeen, along with Friends of Anchor, is trying to raise £2.5million for the new Swift Urological Response and Evaluation (SURE) clinical unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary which would help speed up the diagnostic process for bladder, kidney, prostate, testicular and penile cancers. In a bid to help, north-east businessmen Mike Macaulay, Pat Machray and Ian Ord have come up with the Kick the Ball campaign, which aims to raise £100,000 and will see football clubs taking on a cycle challenge in the month of June. All 18 Breedon Highland League clubs are set to take part as well as every team that is a member of the Aberdeenshire and District FA, which includes nine Highland League sides plus SPFL outfits Aberdeen, Cove Rangers, Peterhead and Elgin City as well as junior clubs like Hermes, Dyce, Stonehaven and Aberdeen University. Each team will be taking on their own cycle challenge next month, either on the road or on spinning bikes, while world-record breaking cyclist Mark Beaumont is also supporting the initiative. On July 1 the man who broke the record for cycling around the globe will be accompanied by around 20 cyclists on a route around the north-east visiting some of the clubs taking part in the campaign. Later that day 'An Evening with Mark Beaumont' is to be held at Thainstone Exchange. Mr Macaulay and Mr Machray have both had prostate cancer, while Mr Ord has had prostate and testicular cancer. Explaining how the campaign idea came about, Mr Machray said: 'We've all had cancer and we've all had experience of UCAN. 'We wanted to give something back and, having heard about the SURE unit, we felt it was something we'd like to try to help get off the ground with a fundraiser. 'We're also hoping to raise awareness and encourage folk to go and get checked as well because with Ian, Mike and myself none of us had symptoms. 'It seems to be the case with a lot of people that there's no symptoms, so trying to encourage people to get checked is very important. 'The point of the whole exercise, and of the SURE unit, is for folk to get diagnosed earlier, because the earlier you find it the better.' Mr Ord, who will be taking part in the cycle with Mr Beaumont, added: 'UCAN has a history of pioneering. They brought robotic surgery to Aberdeen, which dramatically changed how you're treated. 'The new unit would set a new benchmark for the whole of the UK, it would be the first place of its kind. 'UCAN's ambition in terms of what they want to do is incredible, so to be able to help provide the means to do that is great.' Mr Macaulay, who is the chairman of Highland League side Inverurie Locos, has been thrilled with the reaction from clubs. He said: 'The response from the clubs has been brilliant. Nobody in the Highland League or the Aberdeenshire FA has said no to getting involved, which is great. 'We're hoping the clubs will involve their communities in it as much as they can. 'Football clubs are a big part of the community and this is an important thing for every community in the region. 'It's also great to have a world-record breaker in Mark Beaumont supporting us. He's sponsored by John Clark Motor Group and we asked Christopher Clark (managing director of John Clark Motor Group) if he could ask Mark about supporting this and he's been enthusiastic about helping us from the get-go.' Justine Royle is chair of UCAN, and also a consultant urologist, she called the Kick the Ball campaign a 'lovely idea' and outlined the benefits the SURE unit – which it is hoped can be up and running in 2026 – will provide to cancer patients. She said: 'At the moment the diagnostic process for urological cancers takes longer than we would like. 'Patients have to attend multiple consultations. Take prostate cancer as an example, they might come for an MRI scan one day, a biopsy a couple of weeks later and then a consultation and other tests after that. 'It can be four trips to hospital within the diagnostic process. 'If we can get rid of at least a couple of those, for example, having your MRI, biopsy and a consultation all on the same day that's a real benefit to patients because you reduce a lot of the waiting. 'One of the things patients will tell you is that the most anxiety provoking thing is the waiting to find out. 'It's not the diagnosis, it's waiting and not knowing what you've got. 'So if we can shorten that process then that anxiety will be reduced. We want to get the patient where they need to be faster than we're currently able to do. 'With the SURE unit our capability will be increased and we'll be able to do more on a day when a patient comes to us.'
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ACLU: ‘Notice and cure' policies helped 9,000 Pennsylvanians have their votes counted
A voter deposits a mail-in ballot at the drop box outside the Chester County Government Center on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Capital-Star/Peter Hall) More than 9,000 Pennsylvanians successfully cast ballots in the 2024 election, after they initially made mistakes on vote-by-mail ballots, a voting rights group said. About half of the voters who made errors on their mail ballots were able to preserve their rights to vote. That's an improvement over recent elections, when confusion over the rules for voting by mail caused as many as 22,000 voters to be disenfranchised in 2022. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania said its analysis of the 2024 election found more than 7,000 voters were notified by county election officials they forgot to sign or date their ballot envelopes or made similar disqualifying mistakes. County policies allowed those people to correct the errors and have their ballots counted. A further 2,000 were able to vote because of a state Supreme Court decision last year that requires county election officials to count provisional ballots cast by voters who find out that their mail ballots have been disqualified. But more than 8,500 voters still did not have their votes counted because of errors that have not bearing on their qualifications to cast ballots, the analysis found. And 6,500 mail ballots were not counted because they arrived after the Election Day deadline. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The findings the ACLU of Pennsylvania published Thursday show county policies and the Supreme Court's ruling made a difference, Mike Lee, the group's executive director, said. 'That's a win for democracy, and we applaud the majority of counties that inform voters about their potentially disqualifying mistakes. Our question for the other counties is, 'Why aren't you doing more to help people vote?'' Lee said in a statement. Pennsylvania's 67 counties have a patchwork of differing practices under Act 77, which made voting by mail without an excuse an option for the first time in 2020. Some counties inform voters by telephone, email or letter that they have made mistakes ahead of Election Day. Others record canceled ballots in the Statewide Uniform Registry of Voters (SURE), which automatically generates an email that tells voters about their ballot's status. When voters know there's a problem, they can preserve their right to vote by casting a provisional ballot at their polling place. In a case led by the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center last year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of voters from Butler County that election officials were required to count the provisional ballots cast after their primary ballots were canceled. Marian Schneider, the ACLU of Pennsylvania's senior policy counsel for voting rights, told the Capital-Star the Supreme Court has not made a definitive ruling whether county election officials are required to give voters a chance to fix their mistakes. The Election Code doesn't directly address the subject leaving counties broad authority to do what they want, Schneider said. The Department of State, which oversees elections at the state level, could make a rule that all counties have to record whether a ballot has been rejected in the SURE system. That would give voters the notice they need to cast a provisional ballot, Schneider said. Legislation awaiting action in the state House would address three of the main reasons mail-in ballots get rejected. House Bill 499 introduced by Rep. Joe Webster (D-Montgomery) would change the deadline to apply for a mail ballot from seven days before the election to 12 days, to ensure that the postal service has enough time to deliver and return them. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX It would also eliminate the requirement to use a blank secrecy envelope inside the return envelope for mail ballots. Ballots returned without secrecy envelopes now must be disqualified. Webster's bill would clarify that the requirement to sign and date mail-in ballots means to include the date of the voter's signature. It would also state that failing to date the ballot cannot be the sole reason to disqualify the ballot. And it would explicitly give counties the authority to use ballot drop boxes and establish minimum requirements for the counties that choose to do so. Another measure Webster introduced, House Bill 473, would prohibit third-party organizations from sending ballot applications to eligible voters. Ballot applications submitted in bulk, sometimes with incorrect information, prompted investigations in several counties last fall. Rep. Scott Conklin (D-Centre) introduced House Bill 37 to allow counties to begin preparing to count mail ballots up to a week before Election Day. Election workers now may not begin preparing mail ballots until polls open on Election Day, leading to delays in providing election results. The legislation, which Conklin said is consistently the most requested change to Act 77, passed the House last session but was not considered in the Senate.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pa. picks company for election system update
Harrisburg, Pa. — Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt has announced that the company Civix will be in charge of implementing a comprehensive election management system for Pennsylvania. The updated system will be implemented in phases and is intended to enhance the accuracy and security of Pa. elections while improving voter registration and ballot tracking. By contracting Civix, Pennsylvania joins other states such as Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Texas, and Connecticut in implementing this new election management system. 'The Shapiro Administration prioritized procuring this contract as part of its continuing commitment to secure elections. A modern, streamlined election management system is a critical tool that our 67 county boards of elections need, and our voters expect,' Schmidt said. 'We're excited to work with Civix to customize and fully implement the new system by 2028.' Pennsylvania has maintained the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE) system since 2003. The system, which covers all Pa. counties, lets different counties update voter registration across the entire commonwealth; delete verified duplicate registrations; remove deceased voters from the rolls; and transfer records between counties. 'The SURE system has undergone extensive upgrades and security enhancements in the last 22 years,' Schmidt added. 'It has served the voters of Pennsylvania well and will continue to do so for a bit longer, until Civix customizes our new system.' The new Civix system will replace both SURE and the current Election Night Reporting (ENR), campaign finance, and lobbying disclosure registration and reporting systems. The system comes with a public portal that lets Pennsylvanians find support, guidance, and information about registered voters, upcoming elections, public election data, and other information. By replacing the ENR website, the new system will host rolling results from each county after the polls close each election night to provide unofficial election results as quickly as possible. Users can implement a location-based "My County" link to view election data based on their current location. Civix will integrate the Department's current campaign finance website, which displays campaign finance reports filed by candidates for statewide, legislative, and judicial offices plus reports filed by registered political committees and lobbying disclosures. Civix was chosen from seven bids that were made after a May 2024 call for proposals. Following the bid submissions, four finalists were chosen, then a team of elections staff, county elections officials, IT experts, and others assessed the proposed election systems to choose one system to implement. 'Civix is proud to partner with Pennsylvania to implement a scalable, secure, and adaptable system that meets the evolving needs of voters, election officials, and the public,' said Phillip Braithwaite, CEO of Civix. 'We are committed to delivering innovative, future-ready solutions that enhance transparency, efficiency, and accessibility in election administration and ethics oversight. As more states recognize the need to modernize their election systems, Civix is proud to be the trusted partner leading this transformation, and we commend the Commonwealth for embracing a modern, integrated approach.'
CBS News
06-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Pennsylvania to spend $10 million on new voter registration system
Pennsylvania is spending more than $10 million to replace its electronic voter registration database with an election management system that will also provide election night results and handle campaign finance filings and lobbyist registration. Secretary of State Al Schmidt announced Wednesday the Civix system should be fully in use by the time of the next presidential election in 2028, replacing the existing Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, or SURE system. Election management is closely watched in Pennsylvania, a perennial swing state where the two major parties are constantly seeking an edge in state and national contests. State officials say the Civix system's functions for public use will provide information about voter registration, coming elections and voting data. The SURE system, used by counties to record, update and verify voter registration information, has been in place since 2003 and is widely considered to be outdated. "That doesn't mean it's not reliable," said Schmidt, who compared using the existing system to the frustrations of having a 20-year-old phone. "It is safe and secure. We are always having to make upgrades." It's not clear how much the Civix software will also require hardware changes, Schmidt said. "As the project develops, it will become more clear the extent to which new hardware is needed," he said. Forrest Lehman, who has served as Lycoming County's elections director for about a decade, said there is a widespread feeling among county elections officials that the SURE system is in need of replacement. "We all want this to succeed," Lehman said. "We want a new voter registration system that can move this state and the counties that use it into the 21st century."
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shapiro Administration begins implementing streamlined elections management system to keep Pennsylvania elections safe
(WHTM) — Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced that Civix has been chosen to implement a comprehensive election management system for Pennsylvania. The Shapiro Administration says the new system will provide a streamlined, one-stop-shop elections administration experience for the Department, county elections boards, candidates, political committees, and lobbyists. The Administration says the updates will enhance the accuracy and security of Pennsylvania's election system, as well as improve the registration, and ballot tracking experience for Pennsylvania voters. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'The Shapiro Administration prioritized procuring this contract as part of its continuing commitment to secure elections. A modern, streamlined election management system is a critical tool that our 67 county boards of elections need, and our voters expect,' Schmidt said. 'We're excited to work with Civix to customize and fully implement the new system by 2028.' Pennsylvania joins a group of over 20 states with leaders from both parties—including Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Texas, and Connecticut—that have taken this step to promote election security, streamline election management, and increase accessibilty for people to these vital resources. The Department has maintained the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE) system since 2003, which serves as the database for all 67 counties to ensure the accuracy and integrity of Pennsylvania's voter registration rolls. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
