Voter roll upkeep draws attention

Registration updates target of increased scrutiny from D.C.

Doing upkeep on Pennsylvania's voter rolls is usually a low-key job attracting little public attention.

But the Department of State is raising the profile on the ongoing effort to have accurate rolls in advance of the mid-term election in November.

"Maintaining accurate voter registration lists is essential to ensuring free, fair, safe and secure elections," said Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt. "Pennsylvania's county election officials follow carefully prescribed legal procedures to keep voter rolls current while protecting eligible voters from being improperly removed."

Schmidt's comments reflect Pennsylvania's status as a state with split responsibilities in running elections.

The 67 counties maintain voter registration rolls, conduct elections, including finding poll workers, maintaining equipment and locating polling places.

Counties verify and report election results.

State government provides oversight in accordance with state and federal laws. The Secretary of State is the chief election officer and certifies results in statewide races. Harrisburg also provides fiscal aid in such areas as election security.

Pennsylvania belongs to the Election Registration Information Center, a data-sharing outfit with other states tracking duplicate voter registrations.

The 50 states vary in how they handle elections, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This can mean different practices on mail-in ballots, runoffs and when polls close.

DC tussles

Pennsylvania's voter registration system has been the subject of a recent legal fight.

The Trump administration's Justice Department requested copies of statewide voter registration lists for Pennsylvania and other states last year.

Pennsylvania declined the request, the Justice Department sued and a federal court dismissed the case.

The case issues involve the scope of federal authority and voter privacy.

Meanwhile, the federal Department of Homeland Security claimed last month there are more than 14,000 non-citizens registered to vote in Pennsylvania.

State officials responded by asking the department to show the method or data used to arrive at that number.

Uniform registry

Counties maintain voter registration records through Pennsylvania's Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE) system.

County election workers update records to reflect individual voters dying, moving away or changing their party registration. This is partly achieved by reviewing death records, U.S. Postal Service change-of-address information and interstate voter registration data.

A voter's registration is cancelled due to death or moving to a new voting jurisdiction. Counties are required to contact voters before a voter record is cancelled.

Voters can also be placed on inactive status. This happens when a voter has submitted a mail forwarding address, registered in another state or taken no action with their voting record for a five-year period.

A voter on inactive status would have their registration cancelled If they didn't respond to notices and vote in two succeeding general federal elections.

"The Department is careful to engage in a responsible and deliberative process to send communications to individuals who are affected ensuring no eligible voter is disenfranchised," said department spokesman Matt Heckel.

The Department of State publishes updated statewide voter registration statistics every Monday. The department also issues annual reports detailing activities to maintain the voter registration lists, including number of registrations cancelled and voters designated as inactive.

State law requires voters to verify their identity when registering to vote and provide ID when voting for the first time at a new polling place.

County officials want more state aid and revisions to the state Election Code to address issues that crop up each cycle since mail-invoting was introduced, said Frank J. Mazza, director of government relations for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

The new state budget for Fiscal Year 2026-27 provides nominal increases in state aid for SURE operations and slight increases for Department of State general operations, said CCAP.

The county commissioners group sought a $5 million increase in state election integrity grants for election spending, including voter list maintenance, but it was level funded at $45 million, CCAP said.

Sen. Michele Brooks, R-Mercer, introduced legislation this week to provide county election officials with additional tools and sources of information to identify and remove deceased, duplicate and otherwise ineligible registrations.

Senate Bill 1429 seeks more coordination among state and local agencies, establishes clear timelines for voter-roll maintenance and creates safeguards to ensure eligible voters are not improperly removed from the rolls, said Brooks.

SB1429 provisions include:

– Expanding the authoritative sources election officials may use to include information from the Social Security Administration, government-issued death certificates and Pennsylvania coroners. Counties also could consider other reliable information indicating an elector's death, including records from government agencies or vital records offices in other states, qualified private-sector data entities and official U.S. Postal Service notices.

– Establishing clear timelines for removing deceased voters. County election commissions would be required to update registration records within 14 days of receiving information indicating a registration should be canceled because of the voter's death.

– Requiring counties to retain canceled voter registration records for five years, including the reason and date for cancellation. County election boards also would be required to annually certify to the Secretary of the Commonwealth that they completed all required voter-roll maintenance. The certification would include the number of address confirmation requests sent, voters designated inactive and registrations removed from the voter registration system.