Pennsylvania Republicans introduce sweeping election reform bill!

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (PNN) - June 13, 2021 - Pennsylvania Republicans proposed an overhaul of the state’s election system on Thursday with stricter voter identification requirements and mail ballot signature verification.

State Rep. Seth Grove - the chairman of the House State Government Committee who acts as House Republicans’ point person for election legislation - introduced the Voting Rights Protection Act, House Bill 1300, after months of hearings by the House State Government Committee.

The legislation aims at transforming and improving Pennsylvania’s election process to restore the integrity of and trust in elections, according to a statement from Grove’s office.

The bill seems to embrace ideas from both the Republican and Democrat side, and proposes comprehensive measures to change the rules for election, including:

• Allowing early in-person voting beginning in 2025.
  
  
• Allowing unsigned or undated ballots to be corrected before 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
  
  
• Giving counties the option to use secure mail-in ballot drop boxes during specific times at secure locations.
  
  
• Allowing mail-in ballots to be counted five days before an election. Current law allows the count to begin no earlier than 7:00 a.m. on Election Day.
  
  
• Requiring every voter to present a photo ID at the polls.
  
  
• Requiring signature verification for mail ballots.
  
  
• Eliminating the permanent mail-in voting list.
  
  
• Establishing a Bureau of Election Audits under the state Auditor General’s office. The newly-established bureau will have subpoena power and will regularly conduct election audits.

Most of the proposed rules in House Bill 1300 are based on a report published by the State House Government Committee back on May 10.

The report titled, A Comprehensive Review of Pennsylvania’s Election Laws: How Pennsylvania Can Guarantee Rights and Integrity in Our Election System, identifies 25 aspects of the election process that need improvements.

The bill is intended to fix the issues listed in the report. “This responsible bill includes all aspects of issues brought before the committee and will propel Pennsylvania’s election into the 21st Century, all while fixing fatal flaws and election security issues,” Grove said.

Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler is supportive of the bill.

“House Republicans have consistently paved the way to more accessible, secure and accurate elections,” he said. “Our caucus ensured the state tracked the impacts of our evolving election law in 2019 and 2020, and today we see those efforts brought to fruition in this important and thorough legislation by Chairman Grove. Pennsylvanians must have faith in their elections, and this bill is another piece of restoring the public’s trust.”

The proposed bill will likely be blocked by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, though Republicans control both the House and Senate in the state legislature.

Wolf suggested earlier this week that he will veto any election bill from the Republican side.

“I will stand up for our freedom to vote. I will not allow bad actors to put up barriers to voting in Pennsylvania,” he said. “Not only will I veto any legislative efforts to roll back the freedoms Pennsylvanians right now have, I will continue to push for changes that expand our access to the polls.”

The Republicans may not have enough votes to override Wolf’s likely veto.