PRINTER'S NO. 289
No. 272 Session of 1985
INTRODUCED BY PETRONE, DAWIDA, DeLUCA, TRELLO, VAN HORNE, IRVIS,
LEVDANSKY, SEVENTY, MICHLOVIC, DUFFY, PRESTON, OLASZ, MRKONIC
AND PISTELLA, FEBRUARY 11, 1985
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 11, 1985
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 29, 1937 (P.L.487, No.115), entitled,
2 as reenacted and amended, "An act to provide for the
3 permanent personal registration of electors in cities of the
4 second class, cities of the second class A, cities of the
5 third class, boroughs, towns, and townships as a condition of
6 their right to vote at elections and primaries, and their
7 enrollment as members of political parties as a further
8 condition of their right to vote at primaries; prescribing
9 certain procedure for the conduct of elections and primaries
10 and the challenge and proof of qualifications of electors;
11 requiring the county commissioners of the various counties to
12 act as a registration commission therefor; and prescribing
13 the powers and duties of citizens, parties, political bodies,
14 registration commissions, commissioners, registrars,
15 inspectors of registration and other appointees of
16 registration commissions, county election boards, election
17 officers, municipal officers, departments and bureaus, police
18 officers, courts, judges, prothonotaries, sheriffs, county
19 commissioners, peace officers, county treasurers, county
20 controllers, registrars of vital statistics, certain public
21 utility corporations, real estate brokers, rental agents, and
22 boards of school directors; and imposing penalties,"
23 extending the time before persons may be purged from the
24 voter rolls.
25 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
26 hereby enacts as follows:
27 Section 1. Section 38 of the act of April 29, 1937 (P.L.487,
28 No.115), known as The Permanent Registration Act for Cities of
1 the Second Class, Cities of the Second Class A, Cities of the
2 Third Class, Boroughs, Towns, and Townships, reenacted and
3 amended May 31, 1955 (P.L.62, No.32) and amended June 3, 1983
4 (P.L.14, No.7), is amended to read:
5 Section 38. Cancellation or Suspension of Registration Upon
6 Failure to Vote during [Two] Four Calendar Years; Request for
7 Reinstatement; Effect of Removal Notice.--Within three months
8 after January first of each year except in such years as the
9 commission shall conduct a check of electors in compliance with
10 clause (c) of section thirty of this act, the registration
11 commission shall cause all of the district registers to be
12 examined, and in the case of each elector who has been
13 registered for a period of at least [two] four immediately
14 preceding calendar years and who is not recorded as having voted
15 at any election or primary during said period, the commission
16 shall send to such elector by mail, at his address appearing
17 upon his registration card, a notice setting forth that the
18 records of the commission indicate that he has not voted during
19 the [two] four immediately preceding calendar years and that his
20 registration will be cancelled or suspended at the expiration of
21 thirty days from the date of mailing such notice unless he
22 shall, within that period, file with the commission, either
23 personally or by mail, a written request for reinstatement of
24 his registration, or a removal notice properly executed, setting
25 forth his place of residence, and signed by him. At the
26 expiration of the time specified in the notice, the commission
27 shall cancel or suspend the registration of such elector unless
28 he has filed with the commission a signed request for
29 reinstatement of his registration as above provided, or a
30 removal notice: Provided, however, That the official
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1 registration application card of an elector who has registered
2 by mail may qualify as a reinstatement of his registration, or a
3 removal notice. The cancellation or suspension of the
4 registration of any such elector for failure to vote during the
5 [two] four immediately preceding calendar years shall not affect
6 the right of any such elector to subsequently register in the
7 manner provided by this act.
8 Such removal notice, properly executed, shall have the same
9 effect as the request for reinstatement, as above provided,
10 where failure to vote during [two] four calendar years may cause
11 cancellation or suspension of registration. Either a removal
12 notice card or request for reinstatement card shall be permitted
13 to be used interchangeably in such circumstances: Provided, That
14 in counties in which a reinstatement system is maintained, any
15 elector who, due to circumstances beyond his control, has failed
16 to vote or file a removal notice card as heretofore provided
17 may, on the day of any election or primary, appear at the office
18 of the commission and, upon satisfactory proof, execute and file
19 the necessary removal or reinstatement notice in accordance with
20 the provisions of this act. On any of the aforesaid days, such
21 elector may petition the proper court of common pleas praying
22 for such order directed to the election board of his district
23 that will enable him to exercise his right of suffrage. Appended
24 to said petition shall be a certification to the court by the
25 commission or such person or persons as it may authorize,
26 stating the reason for the removal of the elector's registration
27 card from its active file and further certifying that he has now
28 been duly registered and his card transferred to its active file
29 for all intents and purposes. The petition shall be signed by
30 the petitioner whose signature shall be compared by an election
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1 officer with the signature of the petitioner as it appears on
2 the voter's certificate as executed by him for the purpose of
3 identification and qualified to vote.
4 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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