Ward proposes changes to voter registration
Bill would set deadlines for removing ineligible registrations
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From staff reports
HARRISBURG -- State Sen. Judy Ward has introduced legislation aimed at strengthening Pennsylvania's voter registration system by giving county election officials additional sources of information to identify deceased, duplicate and otherwise ineligible registrations.
Ward, R-30, said Senate Bill 1429 would improve coordination among state and local agencies, establish timelines for maintaining voter rolls and add safeguards intended to prevent eligible voters from being improperly removed.
"Pennsylvania voters deserve confidence that our voter registration rolls are accurate, up to date and properly maintained," Ward said. "This legislation gives our county election officials the information and tools they need to do their jobs effectively while also putting important safeguards in place to protect eligible voters from being mistakenly removed."
Under the proposal, county election commissions could use additional sources to identify deceased voters, including Social Security Administration information, government-issued death certificates and records from Pennsylvania coroners.
Counties also could consider information from other government agencies, vital records offices in other states, qualified private-sector data providers and official U.S. Postal Service notices.
Election commissions would be required to update registration records within 14 days of receiving information indicating a registration should be canceled because of a voter's death.
The legislation also would require the Pennsylvania Department of Health to notify the appropriate election commission within 30 days after receiving notice of a death. The department would use Social Security Administration information at least once every 120 days to identify deceased registered voters and transmit that information for incorporation into the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, or SURE, system.
The proposal includes a process for voters whose registrations are mistakenly canceled because they were incorrectly reported as deceased. Those voters would receive notice of the cancellation and have 10 days to provide proof that an error occurred. They also would be permitted to re-register or cast a provisional ballot in the next primary or general election.
Ward's bill would expand the sources counties could use to identify other potentially ineligible registrations. Those could include information from state and federal courts, government agencies, the Social Security Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, jury selection commissions and qualified private-sector data entities.
Counties would be required to conduct voter-registration maintenance at least annually. The process would begin no later than 30 days after certification of the primary election and be completed at least 90 days before the general election.
Other provisions would require jury selection commissions to provide monthly information about people removed from jury service because they did not meet U.S. citizenship requirements. PennDOT would provide information about Pennsylvania driver's licenses surrendered when individuals obtain licenses in other states.
The legislation also includes recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Counties would retain canceled voter-registration records for five years, including the reason and date for each cancellation.
County election boards would annually certify to the secretary of the commonwealth that required voter-roll maintenance was completed. The reports would include the number of address confirmation requests sent, voters designated inactive and registrations removed.
If the secretary determines someone intentionally or knowingly failed to fulfill voter-roll maintenance requirements, the bill directs the secretary to refer the matter to the state attorney general for possible criminal proceedings.
Senate Bill 1429 is awaiting consideration by the Senate State Government Committee.