November’s election showed definitively that Pennsylvanians have a massive appetite for more convenient voting options, specifically the ability to cast a ballot early in person so they aren’t limited to Election Day.

Act 77 of 2019, the law that allowed for no-excuse mail ballots, does not provide for true in-person early voting, but it does allow counties to set up a process by which voters can come to a satellite election office, apply for a mail-in ballot, fill it out and submit it in person.

Some counties took advantage of this option. Allegheny County and Philadelphia opened satellite election offices. Montgomery County opened eight satellite election offices and rolled out a full-service mobile satellite election office that traveled the county in the runup to Election Day.

Early vote-by-mail was overwhelmingly popular, but confusion and misinformation undermined the effort. Unlike with traditional in-person voting where voters can simply give their name and cast their ballot, the in-person vote-by-mail process requires voters to: fill out an application, wait for it to be processed by an election worker, then fill out their ballot, make sure they properly seal both envelopes and fill out the outer envelope.

This led to delays and confusion at election offices that weren’t prepared for the overwhelming surge of interest in a more convenient manner of voting. National news organizations added to the confusion by erroneously reporting that early voting was beginning in Pennsylvania.

The confusion around the rules of early voting by mail affected both parties. Donald Trump personally intervened to force Bucks County officials to extend their early vote-by-mail hours. In Allentown road closures due to a Trump visit to the city at the end of the early vote-by-mail in person period led a judge to provide an extension for voters in this Democratic-leaning community as well.

It is not surprising that voters have such an appetite for more convenient voting options. People have busy lives with jobs and family responsibilities that may make it difficult to make it to the polling place on one single election day. Folks with disabilities may have trouble finding transportation or someone to assist them in casting their ballot. Other people just don’t fully trust that it won’t get lost in the mail.

Unfortunately, Pennsylvania remains an outlier in providing convenient voting options to its citizens. Currently more than 15 states, including deep blue California, and deep red Florida, offer more convenient early-voting options than Pennsylvania does. As the birthplace of American democracy, it is incumbent upon us to do better.

Fortunately, a vehicle to do just that already exists. In last year’s session, Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Joanna McClinton introduced a historic piece of legislation, House Bill 2369, which would establish a two-week early voting in-person window in Pennsylvania. The bill has more than 70 cosponsors. Many Republican representatives voted in favor of an amendment that included the same early vote language from this bill. It is abundantly clear that Pennsylvanians, regardless of political party, want true, in-person early voting.

At Pennsylvania Voice, we believe that true democracy requires full participation from the electorate and look forward to there-introduction of this bill in this legislative session. As the General Assembly reconvenes in January, it is critically important that legislators from both sides of the aisle come together to advance this legislation and therefore deliver what all their constituents so clearly want: a more convenient way to participate in our democracy.

Salewa Ogunmefun is executive director of Pennsylvania Voice.