PRINTER'S NO. 665
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
280
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY BOSCOLA AND HAYWOOD, APRIL 13, 2017
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, APRIL 13, 2017
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 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; in nomination of
candidates, further providing for candidates to be nominated
and party officers to be elected at primaries and providing
for procedure for unenrolled electors to cast primary ballots
and for form of declaration of party enrollment; and, in
preparation for and conduct of primaries and elections,
further providing for manner of applying to vote, persons
entitled to vote, voter's certificates, entries to be made in
district register, numbered lists of voters and challenges
and for voting check list.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 702, 802 and 902 of the act of June 3,
1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election
Code, 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,
except an unenrolled elector under section 902.1.
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 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
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 and unenrolled elector under section 902.1
shall have the opportunity at the Spring primary in such years
to vote [his] a preference for one person to be the candidate of
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[his] a political party for President.
Section 2. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
Section 902.1. Procedure for Unenrolled Electors to Cast
Primary Ballots.--If a person is not enrolled in a political
party, the elections officer shall ask the person in which
political party's primary that person desires to vote, and the
elections officer upon reply shall record the voter's selection
upon the voter's certificate and for the purpose of that ballot
shall be enrolled in that party. The person shall remain
unenrolled for party designation unless the person completes a
declaration of enrollment as described in section 902.2.
Section 902.2. Form of Declaration of Party Enrollment.--If
after a person has cast a political party ballot, as prescribed
in section 902.1, and the person wishes to remain enrolled in
that party, the person shall complete a declaration of
enrollment which shall be made available within the polling
place and shall be in a form approved by the Secretary of the
Commonwealth substantially as follows:
Declaration of Enrollment
Name .............................
(Print)
Date .............................
Address ..........................
I hereby request that my political party enrollment be as
follows:
Party ......................
Signed under penalty of perjury.
..................................
(Signature)
The elections officer shall include the person's declaration of
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enrollment with the voter's certificate and insert both into the
voting check list as provided for in section 1212. Once
processed, the county board shall send a new certificate of
registration, with the declared party enrollment listed, to the
person requesting enrollment.
Section 3. Sections 1210(d) and 1212 of the act are amended
to read:
Section 1210. Manner of Applying to Vote; Persons Entitled
to Vote; Voter's Certificates; Entries to Be Made in District
Register; Numbered Lists of Voters; Challenges.--* * *
(d) No person, except a qualified elector who is in actual
military or naval service under a requisition of the President
of the United States or by the authority of this Commonwealth,
and who votes under the provisions of Article XIII of this act,
shall be entitled or permitted to vote at any primary or
election at any polling place outside the election district in
which [he] the person resides, nor shall [he] the person be
permitted to vote in the election district in which [he] the
person resides, unless [he] the person has been personally
registered as an elector and [his] the person's registration
card appears in the district register of such election district,
except by order of the court of common pleas as provided in this
act, and any person, although personally registered as an
elector, may be challenged by any qualified elector, election
officer, overseer, or watcher at any primary or election as to
[his] identity, as to [his] continued residence in the election
district or as to any alleged violation of the provisions of
section 1210 of this act, and if challenged as to identity or
residence, [he] the person shall produce at least one qualified
elector of the election district as a witness, who shall make
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affidavit of his identity or continued residence in the election
district: Provided, however, That no person shall be entitled to
vote as a member of a party at any primary, unless [he] the
person is:
(1) registered and enrolled as a member of such party upon
the district register, which enrollment shall be conclusive as
to [his] party membership and shall not be subject to challenge
on the day of the primary[.]; or
(2) registered as an independent or nonparty voter, in which
case the person may vote for the candidates of the party of the
voter's choice, the choice to be made at the polling place on
the day of the primary election. The voter's choice of parties
at one primary election shall not preclude the voter from
choosing a different party at a subsequent primary election.
Section 1212. Voting Check List.--After each elector has
been admitted to vote, [his] each voter's certificate and, where
applicable, each declaration of enrollment shall be inserted in
the file or binder provided therefor by the county board, and
known as the "Voting Check List," and the [said] voter's
certificate and declaration of enrollment so bound shall
constitute the official list of electors voting at such primary
or election. All voter's certificates prepared by persons
applying to vote whose applications to vote are refused by the
election officer shall be carefully preserved and returned to
the county board with the other papers. Within ninety days of
such return, the voting check list shall be reviewed by the
county board and all persons wishing to be enrolled in a party,
as prescribed in sections 902.1 and 902.2, shall be processed
accordingly.
Section 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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