PRINTER'S NO. 2136
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1757
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY KRAJEWSKI, RABB, BULLOCK, DAWKINS, ABNEY, MADDEN,
HILL-EVANS, WAXMAN, KHAN, KINSEY, SANCHEZ, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ,
HOHENSTEIN, HOWARD AND GREEN, OCTOBER 16, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, OCTOBER 16, 2023
AN ACT
Amending Title 25 (Elections) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes, in voter registration, further providing for
qualifications to register, for government agencies and for
preparation and distribution of applications; and, in voting
procedures, further providing for application for absentee
ballots.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 1301(a), 1325(b)(4) and 1327(a)(4)(iii)
of Title 25 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are
amended to read:
§ 1301. Qualifications to register.
(a) Eligibility.--An individual who will be at least 18
years of age on the day of the next election, who has been a
citizen of the United States for at least one month prior to the
next election and who has resided in this Commonwealth and the
election district where the individual offers to vote for at
least 30 days prior to the next ensuing election [and has not
been confined in a penal institution for a conviction of a
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felony within the last five years] shall be eligible to register
as provided in this chapter.
* * *
§ 1325. Government agencies.
* * *
(b) Forms.--An agency designated in subsection (a) shall
provide a form for office visits or, if the agency provides
services to persons with disabilities, for home visits which
contains all of the following:
* * *
(4) The statement "In order to be qualified to register
to vote, you must be at least 18 years of age on the day of
the next election, you must have been a citizen of the United
States for at least one month prior to the next election and
have resided in Pennsylvania and the election district where
you plan to vote for at least 30 days prior to the next
election[, and you must not have been confined in a penal
institution for a conviction of a felony within the last five
years]."
* * *
§ 1327. Preparation and distribution of applications.
(a) Form.--
* * *
(4) A voter registration application shall be printed on
stock of good quality and shall be of suitable uniform size.
Nothing in this part shall prohibit the design and use of an
electronic voter registration application which includes the
applicant's digitized or electronic signature. The
registration application shall contain the following
information; however, the information may be provided on a
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separate form for voter registration made under section 1323
or 1325:
* * *
(iii) Notice that the applicant must be a citizen of
the United States for at least one month prior to the
next election and a resident of this Commonwealth and the
election district for at least 30 days and must be at
least 18 years of age by the day of the next ensuing
election [and has not been confined in a penal
institution for a conviction of a felony within the last
five years]. The notice required in this subparagraph
shall be in print identical to the declaration under
subsection (b).
* * *
Section 2. Section 3302(a) of Title 25 is amended by adding
a paragraph and the section is amended by adding a subsection to
read:
§ 3302. Application for absentee ballots.
(a) General rule.--Notwithstanding the provisions of Part IV
(relating to voter registration) or the act of June 3, 1937
(P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, the
following persons may make application for an absentee ballot by
sending a letter or other signed document to the county board of
elections in the county in which the person's voting address is
located:
* * *
(5) An inmate who is confined in a correctional
institution and who is eligible to register to vote as
provided under section 1301 (relating to qualifications to
register).
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* * *
(e) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Correctional institution." A penal institution,
penitentiary, State farm, reformatory, prison, jail, house of
correction, juvenile detention facility or other institution for
the incarceration or custody of persons under sentence for
offenses or awaiting trial or sentence for offenses.
"Inmate." An offender who is committed to, under sentence to
or confined in a correctional institution and who is eligible to
register to vote as provided under section 1301. The term does
not include an individual convicted under section 1703 (relating
to application) or an offense under the Pennsylvania Election
Code.
Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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