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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 16, 2018 10:51 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Charles T. McIlhinney, Jr. |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Maintenance of Voter Registration Rolls |
| In the near future, I will be introducing legislation to ensure the timely maintenance and accuracy of Pennsylvania’s voter registration rolls. The goal of maintaining an accurate voter list is to prevent ineligible people from voting, prevent anyone from voting twice and by reducing inaccuracies speed up the voter check-in process at polling places. At the federal level, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA commonly referred to as “motor voter”) created a regulatory floor for state maintenance of voter registration rolls. A state may remove the name of a voter from the voter list under these circumstances: a voter confirms in writing that he/she moved from the jurisdiction or wishes to be removed from the voter rolls, the state receives reliable information that the voter has moved such as information from the United States Postal Service or the state receives reliable information that a voter is deceased. The NVRA allows states to institute other provisions for the maintenance of voter rolls at their discretion, as long as they are uniform and non-discriminatory. The NVRA is a floor, not a ceiling. Currently, under the Pennsylvania Voter Registration Act, counties send five-year notices to registrants who have not voted in two federal general elections and address verification notices to voters identified by the US Postal Service as having submitted a change of address. A voter is only cancelled after receiving a notice requesting the voter to confirm his or her address or placed on inactive status and the voter does not vote or otherwise contact the county for two federal general elections after receiving notice. My legislation would change the five-year notification to a two year notification and only after the voter has not voted in the following two federal general elections or contacted the county after notification would the registered elector be cancelled. I invite you to join me in sponsoring this important piece of legislation. |