HARRISBURG (Newsradio 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA) – The Pennsylvania House approved the Voting Rights Protection Act (House Bill 1300) on Tuesday.
The bill comes after months-long series of hearings conducted by the committee.
The legislation will allow mail-in ballots to be counted before Election Day, require the last day to register to vote back to 30 days prior to the election, as requested by county election officials.
The Act would also increase voter participation by allowing for early in-person voting beginning 2025. The legislation also corrects non-fatal defects on mail-in ballots, including their completion by 8 p.m. on Election Day, gives counties the option to use secure mail-in ballot drop boxes during specific times and secure locations, and increases voting access for Pennsylvanians with disabilities.
“The Voting Rights Protection Act fixes saliant issues uncovered during months of hearings by the House State Government Committee on the election process,” House State Government Chairman Seth Grove (R-York) said. “Since 2016, our elections have been ripe with controversy with both sides claiming illegitimate results. The aim of this bill is not to take out the ability for anyone to question the results, but to rather modernize our elections and restore faith in the process.”
The recent poll by Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster found a large majority of both Republicans and Democrats support many of the initiatives in the bill, including voter registration identification cards at the polls and verified voter signatures. According to the poll, 74% of those polled support having to show identification when voting in person and 81% are in favor of signature verification.
The Voting Rights Protection Act would also regular election audits, enhances certification processes for all machines used in elections, improve lists of registered voters, conduct an audit of every election before results are certified. Registered voters would receive through their counties’ voter registration identification cards to be used in person.
“I look forward to this bill quickly being taken up in the Senate, so voters will have more accessibility when casting ballots in even more secure elections,” Grove said. “No matter how voters cast ballots, they must have trust in the election process, know their votes were counted and that there was no interference.”
The bill will not go to the Senate for consideration.