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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 27, 2024 09:32 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Cris Dush |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Enhancing Voter Registration Criteria |
| Very soon, I will introduce legislation to enhance the eligibility requirements for voter registration in Pennsylvania. To qualify as an elector in Pennsylvania currently, you must meet three basic conditions: Age (you must be 18 years or older), citizenship (you must be a U.S. citizen, for at least a month), and residency (you must have lived within Pennsylvania at least ninety days, and your voting district at least thirty days). My bill proposes to enhance these requirements by adding mental competency and exclusive registration as prerequisites for voter registration. Currently, Pennsylvania lacks safeguards to protect the voting rights of individuals deemed mentally incompetent by a legal authority (such as a court or government agency). This leaves their votes vulnerable to misappropriation. By aligning Pennsylvania with at least 34 other states and the District of Columbia in safeguarding the voting rights of mentally incompetent individuals who have not been restored to competence, this legislation will enhance the integrity of our electoral process. Additionally, recent reviews have uncovered as many as 80,000 duplicate voter registrations in Pennsylvania. To mitigate this issue, the proposed legislation will require exclusive registration with the Commonwealth. Making voter registration contingent on revoking or disclaiming any prior registrations can help reduce duplicate registrations, bringing us in line with other jurisdictions such as New York and the District of Columbia. I urge you to join me in co-sponsoring this legislation. |