PRINTER'S NO. 1572
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1139
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY WARD, TEPLITZ AND HAYWOOD, MARCH 4, 2016
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 4, 2016
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled
"An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,
special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,
primary and election expenses and election contests; creating
and defining membership of county boards of elections;
imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,
courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;
imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,
revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and
repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to
elections," in county boards of elections, further providing
for powers and duties of county boards; in qualifications of
electors, further providing for qualifications of electors at
primaries; in party organization, further providing for only
enrolled electors to vote at primaries or hold party offices;
and, in nomination of candidates, further providing for
candidates to be nominated and party officers to be elected
at primaries.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 302(m) of the act of June 3, 1937
(P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code,
amended October 8, 2004 (P.L.807, No.97), is amended and the
section is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 302. Powers and Duties of County Boards.--The county
boards of elections, within their respective counties, shall
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exercise, in the manner provided by this act, all powers granted
to them by this act, and shall perform all the duties imposed
upon them by this act, which shall include the following:
* * *
(m) To prepare and submit, within twenty days after the last
day to register to vote in each primary, municipal and general
election, a report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth in the
form prescribed by him, which shall contain a statement of the
total number of electors registered in each election district,
together with a breakdown of registration by each political
party or other designation[.], including declarations for voting
in a primary election made by electors registered but not
enrolled as members of a political party. Copies of said
statement shall be furnished, upon request, to the county
chairman of each political party and political body. The
Secretary of the Commonwealth shall forthwith submit such
information to the Legislative Data Processing Center and shall
publicly report the total number of registered electors for each
political party or other designation in each county not later
than five days prior to the primary, municipal or general
election.
(m.1) To provide the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the
county chairmen of each political political party and political
body a list of each elector who is registered but not enrolled
as a member of a political party and who has made a declaration
to vote the ballot of that political party.
* * *
Section 2. Sections 702 and 802 of the act are amended to
read:
Section 702. Qualifications of Electors at Primaries.--The
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qualifications of electors entitled to vote at primaries shall
be the same as the qualifications of electors entitled to vote
at elections within the election district where the primary is
held, provided that [no elector who is not registered and
enrolled as a member of a political party, in accordance with
the provisions of this act, shall be permitted to vote the
ballot of such party or any other party ballot at any primary.]
an elector who is registered but not enrolled as a member of a
political party has made a declaration to the county board in a
manner prescribed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, no more
than thirty days immediately preceding the election, of his or
her intention to vote the ballot of only one political party in
the primary election. The declaration must include which party
ballot that the elector will be voting.
Section 802. Only Enrolled Electors to [Vote at Primaries
or] Hold Party Offices.--No person who is not registered and
enrolled as a member of a political party shall be [entitled to
vote at any primary of such party or to be] elected or serve as
a party officer, or a member or officer of any party committee,
or delegate or alternate delegate to any party convention.
Section 3. Section 902 of the act, amended May 23, 1949
(P.L.1656, No.504), is amended to read:
Section 902. Candidates to Be Nominated and Party Officers
to Be Elected at Primaries.--All candidates of political
parties, as defined in section 801 of this act, for the offices
of United States Senator, Representative in Congress and for all
other elective public offices within this State, except that of
presidential electors, shall be nominated, and party delegates
and alternate delegates, committeemen and officers who, under
the provisions of Article VIII of this act or under the party
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rules, are required to be elected by the party electors, shall
be elected at primaries held in accordance with the provisions
of this act, except as otherwise provided in this act. In the
years when candidates for the office of President of the United
States are to be nominated, every registered [and enrolled
member of a political party] elector shall have the opportunity
at the Spring primary in such years to vote his preference for
one person to be the candidate of his political party for
President.
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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