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A STATE with close Welsh connections is at the very heart of the continuing post-election uncertainty in America.

The mass media decided to crown Joe Biden as President over the weekend, even though counting or recounting was still on going in seven key contested states.

Taking it upon themselves to make the call despite the historically unprecedented count uncertainties that emerged on election night itself.

With legal challenges also pending, the final announcement about the Presidential winner will not be announced until the Electoral College Commission meets up on December 12.

One of the contested states where voting is yet to be completed is Pennsylvania, founded by William Penn, who was of Welsh descent, in 1677.

Penn originally wanted to call the state ‘New Wales’ as it reminded him so much of Wales itself, before deciding to include a nod to the Welsh language with the final name choice of Pennsylvania.

The state first attracted many Welsh Quakers looking for religious liberties, and subsequently became home to many thousands more of Welsh workers drawn to work in different industries.

The leader of the Welsh emigres, John Roberts actually negotiated a particular section of land called the ‘Welsh Tract’, with the intention of conducting its local government through the medium of Welsh.

Returning to the present, Pennsylvania is one of the 7 contested states, which have now been declared to be the subject of an investigation into alleged voting irregularities in the election.

US Attorney General William Barr announced yesterday (Tuesday) that federal prosecutors were to investigate into the alleged voting irregularities in these states, which also include Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin.

It’s incredible and alarming that the most developed nation in the world has not managed to deliver a clear election process and result in 2020.

Whatever the results of the impending legal investigations, and whoever emerges as the new President, it’s obvious that America needs a complete root and branch reform of its whole voting system.

One can only hope that Pennsylvania’s state motto of ‘Virtue, Freedom and Independence’ can prevail, not only for itself but also for the rest of the United States as well.