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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
04/26/2024 03:35 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20210&cosponId=36510
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House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: November 15, 2021 04:04 PM
From: Representative Joanna E. McClinton
To: All House members
Subject: Comprehensive Election Reform Legislation
 
In the near future, I will be introducing a major piece of legislation to further modernize Pennsylvania’s election laws as House Bill 2090. 
 
In 2019, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate approved Act 77, followed by Act 12 of 2020, which were the most comprehensive updates to our voting laws in decades.  Mail-in voting, a signature achievement of that law, has been embraced by Pennsylvania voters as a safe and convenient option to return a ballot. 
 
Now, in the face of proposals to roll back those achievements, this bill will build on Acts 77 and 12 to further expand and standardize Pennsylvanians’ voting options while ensuring that results are secure and available in a timely manner. This legislation will further modernize Pennsylvania’s Election Code as follows: 
  • Establishes early voting locations for 15 days leading up to election day to allow voters to cast their ballot on their own schedule; 
  • Allows for same-day voter registration on election day, a best practice for increasing participation in elections in at least 18 states; 
  • Implements statewide electronic poll books for secure real-time monitoring of election rolls as used in at least 35 other states; 
  • Allows voters to “cure” defects in submitted ballots so that voters are not disenfranchised by small errors in filling out their ballot, in addition, the legislation will allow counties to place ballots received without a secrecy envelope into a new envelope to preserve the secrecy of the ballot; 
  • Requires each county to have at least two ballot drop boxes, plus at least one for every 50,000 residents. Counties are also required to provide a drop box on the campus of each public university and community college with 10,000 students, and within one mile of campus if the public university or community college has at least 5,000 students; 
  • Sets uniform requirements for signage, security and chain of custody practices for drop boxes; 
  • Increases poll worker pay to improve participation and retention of our poll workers; 
  • Makes numerous changes requested by our county election officials, including 21 days of pre-canvassing and adjustments to mail-in application deadlines (while allowing additional time for in-person applications); 
  • Provides for prepaid ballot return postage; 
  • Allows 16- and 17-year olds to pre-register to vote; and 
  • Requires colleges and universities to serve as NVRA voter registration agencies. 
I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this legislation to support the secure and convenient conduct of elections in Pennsylvania. 


Introduced as HB2090