PRINTER'S NO. 4634
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
1094
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY DIAMOND, NELSON, SCHEMEL, ROTHMAN, RYAN, KEEFER,
JONES, ROWE, PUSKARIC, GLEIM, COOK, DUSH, BOROWICZ,
ZIMMERMAN, METCALFE, MALONEY, MOUL, ROAE, RAPP, COX,
KAUFFMAN, DAVANZO, DOWLING, IRVIN, BERNSTINE, LEWIS, GREINER,
WARNER, OWLETT, TOBASH, MACKENZIE, METZGAR, SANKEY, KNOWLES,
WHEELAND, JOZWIAK, B. MILLER, RIGBY AND HICKERNELL,
NOVEMBER 30, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, NOVEMBER 30, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Declaring the results of Statewide electoral contests in the
2020 general election to be in dispute.
WHEREAS, Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the Constitution
of the United States empowers state legislatures, including the
General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to
prescribe the "Times, Places, and Manner" of conducting
elections; and
WHEREAS, Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution
of the United States empowers state legislatures, including the
General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to direct
the manner of appointing electors for President and Vice
President of the United States; and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania has exercised its authority to establish election
administration procedures for the Commonwealth under the act of
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June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania
Election Code; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code requires all mail-in
ballots to be received by 8 p.m. on the day of the election; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code requires election
officials at polling places to authenticate the signatures of
in-person voters; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code requires that county
boards of elections shall not meet to conduct a pre-canvass of
all absentee and mail-in ballots until 7 a.m. on election day,
during which time defects on mail-in ballots would be
identified; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code prohibits the
counting of defective absentee or mail-in ballots; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code authorizes
"watchers," selected by candidates and political parties, to
observe the process of canvassing absentee and mail-in ballots;
and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth conducted an election on November
3, 2020, for Federal offices, including selecting electors for
President and Vice President of the United States; and
WHEREAS, Officials in the Executive and Judicial Branches of
the Commonwealth infringed upon the General Assembly's authority
under the Constitution of the United States by unlawfully
changing the rules governing the November 3, 2020, election in
the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, On September 17, 2020, less than seven weeks before
the November 3, 2020, election, the partisan majority on the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania unlawfully and unilaterally
extended the deadline for mail-in ballots to be received and
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mandated that ballots mailed without a postmark would be
presumed to be received timely and could be accepted without a
verified voter signature; and
WHEREAS, On October 23, 2020, less than two weeks before the
November 3, 2020, election and upon a petition from the
Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
ruled that county boards of election need not authenticate
signatures for mail-in ballots, thereby treating in-person and
mail-in voters dissimilarly and eliminating a critical safeguard
against potential election crime; and
WHEREAS, On November 2, 2020, the night before the November
3, 2020, election and prior to the prescribed time for pre-
canvassing mail-in ballots, the office of the Secretary of the
Commonwealth encouraged certain counties in this Commonwealth to
notify party and candidate representatives of mail-in voters
whose ballots contained defects; and
WHEREAS, Heavily Democrat counties permitted mail-in voters
to cure ballot defects while heavily Republican counties
followed the law and invalidated defective ballots; and
WHEREAS, In certain counties in this Commonwealth, watchers
were not allowed to meaningfully observe the pre-canvassing and
canvassing activities relating to absentee and mail-in ballots;
and
WHEREAS, In other parts of this Commonwealth, watchers
observed irregularities concerning the pre-canvassing and
canvassing of absentee and mail-in ballots; and
WHEREAS, Postal employees in Pennsylvania have reported
anomalies relating to mail-in ballots, including multiple
ballots delivered to a single address with unfamiliar
addressees, ballots mailed to vacant homes and empty lots and
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ballots mailed to addresses that did not exist; and
WHEREAS, Witnesses testifying before the Pennsylvania Senate
Majority Policy Committee on November 25, 2020, have provided
additional compelling information regarding the questionable
nature of the administration of the 2020 general election; and
WHEREAS, There remains ongoing litigation concerning the
administration of the November 3, 2020, election in this
Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, Pennsylvania's general election results
were certified on December 12, 2016, and on November 24, 2020,
the Secretary of the Commonwealth unilaterally and prematurely
certified results of the November 3, 2020, election regarding
presidential electors despite ongoing litigation; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has the
duty to ensure that no citizen of this Commonwealth is
disenfranchised, to insist that all elections are conducted
according to the law, and to satisfy the general public that
every legal vote is counted accurately; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives:
(1) Recognize allegations of substantial irregularities
and improprieties associated with mail-in balloting, pre-
canvassing and canvassing during the November 3, 2020,
election.
(2) Disapprove of the infringement on the General
Assembly's authority pursuant to the Constitution of the
United States to regulate elections.
(3) Disapprove of and disagree with the Secretary of the
Commonwealth's premature certification of the results of the
November 3, 2020, election regarding presidential electors.
(4) Declare that the selection of presidential electors
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and other Statewide electoral contest results in this
Commonwealth is in dispute.
(5) Urge the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the
Governor to withdraw or vacate the certification of
presidential electors and to delay certification of results
in other Statewide electoral contests voted on at the 2020
general election.
(6) Urge the United States Congress to declare the
selection of presidential electors in this Commonwealth to be
in dispute.
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