PRINTER'S NO. 3167
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2625
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY CONKLIN, MAY 27, 2022
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MAY 27, 2022
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 voting by qualified absentee electors, further
providing for date of application for absentee ballot and for
canvassing of official absentee ballots and mail-in ballots;
and, in voting by qualified mail-in electors, further
providing for date of application for mail-in ballot.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1302.1(a) and (a.3)(1) and (2) of the act
of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania
Election Code, are amended to read:
Section 1302.1. Date of Application for Absentee Ballot.--
(a) Except as provided in subsection (a.3), applications for
absentee ballots shall be received in the office of the county
board of elections not earlier than fifty (50) days before the
primary or election, except that if a county board of elections
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determines that it would be appropriate to its operational
needs, any applications for absentee ballots received more than
fifty (50) days before the primary or election may be processed
before that time. Applications for absentee ballots shall be
processed if received not later than five o'clock P.M. of the
[first Tuesday] fourteenth day prior to the day of any primary
or election.
(a.3) (1) The following categories of electors may apply
for an absentee ballot under this subsection, if otherwise
qualified:
(i) An elector whose physical disability or illness
prevented the elector from applying for an absentee ballot
before five o'clock P.M. on the [first Tuesday] fourteenth day
prior to the day of the primary or election.
(ii) An elector who, because of the elector's business,
duties or occupation, was unable to apply for an absentee ballot
before five o'clock P.M. on the [first Tuesday] fourteenth day
prior to the day of the primary or election.
(iii) An elector who becomes so physically disabled or ill
after five o'clock P.M. on the [first Tuesday] fourteenth day
prior to the day of the primary or election that the elector is
unable to appear at the polling place on the day of the primary
or election.
(iv) An elector who, because of the conduct of the elector's
business, duties or occupation, will necessarily be absent from
the elector's municipality of residence on the day of the
primary or election, which fact was not and could not reasonably
be known to the elector on or before five o'clock P.M. on the
[first Tuesday] fourteenth day prior to the day of the primary
or election.
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(2) An elector described in paragraph (1) may submit an
application for an absentee ballot at any time up until the time
of the closing of the polls on the day of the primary or
election. The application shall include a declaration describing
the circumstances that prevented the elector from applying for
an absentee ballot before five o'clock P.M. on the [first
Tuesday] fourteenth day prior to the day of the primary or
election or that prevent the elector from appearing at the
polling place on the day of the primary or election, and the
elector's qualifications under paragraph (1). The declaration
shall be made subject to the provisions of 18 Pa.C.S. ยง 4904
(relating to unsworn falsification to authorities).
* * *
Section 2. Section 1308(g)(1)(ii), (1.1), (2) and (3) of the
act, amended March 27, 2020 (P.L.41, No.12), are amended and the
subsection is amended by adding paragraphs to read:
Section 1308. Canvassing of Official Absentee Ballots and
Mail-in Ballots.--* * *
(g) (1) * * *
(ii) An absentee ballot cast by any absentee elector as
defined in section 1301(i), (j), (k), (l), (m) and (n), an
absentee ballot under section [1302(a.3)] 1302.1(a.3) or a mail-
in ballot cast by a mail-in elector shall be canvassed in
accordance with this subsection if the absentee ballot or mail-
in ballot is received in the office of the county board of
elections no later than eight o'clock P.M. on the day of the
primary or election.
(1.1) The county board of elections shall meet no earlier
than [seven o'clock A.M. on] seven (7) days prior to election
day to pre-canvass all ballots received prior to the meeting. A
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county board of elections shall provide at least forty-eight
hours' notice of a pre-canvass meeting by publicly posting a
notice of a pre-canvass meeting on its publicly accessible
Internet website. [One] In accordance with paragraph (1.2), one
authorized representative of each candidate in an election, one
authorized representative of the county chairperson of each
political party and one representative [from] of each political
party shall be permitted to remain in the room in which the
absentee ballots and mail-in ballots are pre-canvassed. No
person observing, attending or participating in a pre-canvass
meeting may disclose the results of any portion of any pre-
canvass meeting prior to the close of the polls.
(1.2) An authorized representative under paragraph (1.1)
shall be provided meaningful access to view and observe the
entire process of pre-canvassing or canvassing. A county board
of elections shall designate an official to respond to concerns
reported by an authorized representative. The Department of
State shall establish a procedure for an authorized
representative to report a concern arising from a pre-canvass
meeting and then investigate and report on the concern raised.
(1.3) A county board of elections shall record the pre-
canvassing and canvassing meetings with audio and visual
recordings. The recordings under this paragraph shall be stored
as an encrypted file. The recording may be posted on the
county's publicly accessible Internet website in the encrypted
format. The password or encryption software may be distributed
as necessary.
(2) The county board of elections shall meet no earlier than
the close of polls on the day of the election and no later than
eight o'clock A.M. the [third] day following the election to
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begin canvassing absentee ballots and mail-in ballots not
included in the pre-canvass meeting. The meeting under this
paragraph shall continue until all absentee ballots and mail-in
ballots received prior to the close of the polls have been
canvassed. The county board of elections shall not record or
publish any votes reflected on the ballots prior to the close of
the polls. The canvass process shall continue through the eighth
day following the election for valid military-overseas ballots
timely received under 25 Pa.C.S. ยง 3511 (relating to receipt of
voted ballot). A county board of elections shall provide at
least forty-eight hours' notice of a canvass meeting by publicly
posting a notice on its publicly accessible Internet website.
One authorized representative of each candidate in an election
and one representative from each political party shall be
permitted to remain in the room in which the absentee ballots
and mail-in ballots are canvassed.
(3) When the county board meets to pre-canvass or canvass
absentee ballots and mail-in ballots under paragraphs (1), (1.1)
and (2), the board shall [examine]:
(i) Examine the declaration on the envelope of each ballot
not set aside under subsection (d) and shall compare the
information thereon with that contained in the "Registered
Absentee and Mail-in Voters File," the absentee voters' list
and/or the "Military Veterans and Emergency Civilians Absentee
Voters File," whichever is applicable.
(ii) If the county board has verified the proof of
identification as required under this act and is satisfied that
the declaration is sufficient and the information contained in
the "Registered Absentee and Mail-in Voters File," the absentee
voters' list and/or the "Military Veterans and Emergency
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Civilians Absentee Voters File" verifies his right to vote, [the
county board shall] provide a list of the names of electors
whose absentee ballots or mail-in ballots are to be pre-
canvassed or canvassed.
(iii) For an absentee ballot or mail-in ballot that the
declaration of the elector is incomplete, unsigned or undated,
notify the elector by mail, email, telephone or text message
that the elector's ballot is incomplete and will not be counted
unless action is taken by the elector prior to the closing of
polls on election day.
(iv) Place and seal an absentee ballot or mail-in ballot
that does not have a ballot envelope or has unidentifiable marks
on the envelope into an empty official election ballot envelope
and secure the envelope with the other removed official election
ballot envelopes to be tabulated.
(3.1) A county board of elections may use an automated
sorting or extracting machine to assist in the processing of
absentee ballots and mail-in ballots.
* * *
Section 3. Section 1302.1-D(a) of the act is amended and the
section is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 1302.1-D. Date of application for mail-in ballot.
(a) General rule.--Applications for mail-in ballots shall be
received in the office of the county board of elections not
earlier than 50 days before the primary or election, except that
if a county board of elections determines that it would be
appropriate to the county board of elections' operational needs,
any applications for mail-in ballots received more than 50 days
before the primary or election may be processed before that
time. Applications for mail-in ballots shall be processed if
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received not later than five o'clock P.M. of the [first Tuesday]
fourteenth day prior to the day of any primary or election.
* * *
(c) In-person request for mail-in ballot.--A qualified
elector may submit an application for a mail-in ballot in person
at the office of the county board of elections not later than
five o'clock P.M. of the first Tuesday prior to the day of a
primary or election and the following process shall apply:
(1) The county board of elections shall immediately
determine the qualifications of the applicant by verifying
the proof of identification and comparing the information
provided on the application with the information contained on
the applicant's permanent registration card.
(2) If the board is satisfied that the applicant is
qualified to receive an official mail-in ballot, the
application shall be marked "approved."
(3) The elector shall receive an official mail-in ballot
and the two envelopes for the official mail-in ballot.
(4) The mail-in ballot shall be processed in accordance
with the other procedures outlined in this article.
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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