PRINTER'S NO. 3806
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2701
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY KAUFER, OCTOBER 25, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, OCTOBER 25, 2024
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 25 (Elections) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, in registration system, further providing for
3 commission staff; in voter registration, further providing
4 for residence of electors, for in-person voter registration,
5 for application with driver's license application, for
6 application by mail, for government agencies, for preparation
7 and distribution of applications and for approval of
8 registration applications; in records, further providing for
9 district registers; in changes in records, repealing
10 provisions relating to change of enrollment of political
11 party; and, in penalties, further providing for preventing
12 registration and for approval of registration.
13 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
14 hereby enacts as follows:
15 Section 1. Sections 1204(a)(3)(iii)(D), 1302(b)(7)
16 introductory paragraph, 1322(a), 1323(g)(1), 1324(a), 1325(b)(6)
17 and (d)(1), 1327(a)(1)(v), (4)(iv) and (7) and (d)(1) of Title
18 25 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to
19 read:
20 § 1204. Commission staff.
21 (a) Counties of the first class.--
22 * * *
23 (3) Appointments shall be as follows:
 1 * * *
2 (iii) Appointments shall be as follows:
3 * * *
4 (D) If a vacancy occurs in the office of
5 registrar, the commission shall fill the vacancy by
6 appointing an elector of the district or ward, as the
7 case may be, who is qualified under subparagraph (ii)
8 and who is a [registered and enrolled] member of the
9 same political party as the registrar whose office
10 was vacated. The vacancy appointment shall be made in
11 the same manner as the initial appointment.
12 * * *
13 § 1302. Residence of electors.
14 * * *
15 (b) Rules for determination.--The following apply:
16 * * *
17 (7) An individual employed in the service of the Federal
18 Government or of the Commonwealth and required thereby to be
19 absent from the municipality where the individual resided
20 when entering that employment and the spouse of the
21 individual may remain registered in the district where the
22 individual resided immediately prior to entering that
23 employment[, and the individual and the spouse shall be
24 enrolled in the political party designated by the individual
25 or spouse without declaring a residence by street and
26 number].
27 * * *
28 § 1322. In-person voter registration.
29 (a) General rule.--Applications may be submitted to register
30 to vote or change [party enrollment or] name or address on a
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 1 current registration record in person before the commission or a
2 commissioner, a registrar or a clerk at the office of the
3 commission or at a place designated by the commission. The
4 applicant shall be advised that any intentional false statement
5 on the application constitutes perjury and will be punishable as
6 such. The applicant shall provide the information required on
7 the registration application and sign the registration
8 declaration. The commission shall prepare and provide voter
9 registration applications for the purpose of registering
10 qualified electors in accordance with this section.
11 Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the commission
12 may use a mail registration application for in-person
13 registration. The commission shall mail the qualified elector an
14 identification card in accordance with section 1328 (relating to
15 approval of registration applications).
16 * * *
17 § 1323. Application with driver's license application.
18 * * *
19 (g) Staff.--Agents and employees working on behalf of the
20 Department of Transportation assisting in the completion of
21 voter registration applications shall conduct themselves in a
22 manner consistent with the following principles:
23 (1) They shall not seek to influence an applicant's
24 political preference [or party registration] or display
25 political preference or party allegiance.
26 * * *
27 § 1324. Application by mail.
28 (a) General rule.--An application to register to vote or to
29 change [party enrollment or] name or address on a current
30 registration may be submitted by voter registration mail
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 1 application in the manner set forth in this section. An
2 application may be submitted by mail or by representative to the
3 commission on an official mail registration application, the
4 form of which shall be determined and prescribed by the
5 secretary or the Federal Election Commission pursuant to the
6 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 [(Public Law 103-31, 42
7 U.S.C. § 1973gg et seq.)] (Public Law 103-31, 52 U.S.C. § 20501
8 et seq.). The applicant must complete the information required
9 on the registration application and sign the registration
10 declaration.
11 * * *
12 § 1325. Government agencies.
13 * * *
14 (b) Forms.--An agency designated in subsection (a) shall
15 provide a form for office visits or, if the agency provides
16 services to persons with disabilities, for home visits which
17 contains all of the following:
18 * * *
19 (6) The statement "If you believe that someone has
20 interfered with your right to register or to decline to
21 register to vote[,] or your right to privacy in deciding
22 whether to register or in applying to register to vote [or
23 your right to choose your own political party or other
24 political preference], you may file a complaint with the
25 Secretary of the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania Department of
26 State, Harrisburg, PA 17120." The secretary shall establish
27 and publish a toll-free telephone number for the purpose of
28 receiving complaints.
29 * * *
30 (d) Staff.--Agency employees assisting in the completion of
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 1 voter registration applications shall conduct themselves in a
2 manner consistent with the following principles:
3 (1) They shall not seek to influence an applicant's
4 political preference [or party registration] or display
5 political preference or party allegiance.
6 * * *
7 § 1327. Preparation and distribution of applications.
8 (a) Form.--
9 (1) The secretary shall prescribe the form of an
10 official voter registration application. The official voter
11 registration application shall provide space for the
12 following information about the applicant:
13 * * *
14 [(v) Designation of political party, for the purpose
15 of voting at a primary election.]
16 * * *
17 (4) A voter registration application shall be printed on
18 stock of good quality and shall be of suitable uniform size.
19 Nothing in this part shall prohibit the design and use of an
20 electronic voter registration application which includes the
21 applicant's digitized or electronic signature. The
22 registration application shall contain the following
23 information; however, the information may be provided on a
24 separate form for voter registration made under section 1323
25 or 1325:
26 * * *
27 [(iv) Notice that political party enrollment is
28 mandatory to vote in a primary election of a political
29 party.]
30 * * *
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 1 (7) To implement section 1324 (relating to application
2 by mail), the secretary shall print an official voter
3 registration mail application designed to preserve the
4 confidentiality of the information required to be submitted.
5 The application shall contain information required by this
6 section and shall include the name of each county seat, its
7 post office mailing address and zip code and its telephone
8 number. Voter registration mail applications shall contain
9 information indicating whether the application is a new
10 registration, [change of party enrollment,] change of address
11 or change of name.
12 * * *
13 (d) Staff.--Agency employees assisting in the distribution
14 of voter registration applications under subsection (c) shall
15 conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the following
16 principles:
17 (1) They shall not seek to influence an applicant's
18 political preference [or party registration] or display
19 political preference or party allegiance.
20 * * *
21 Section 2. Section 1328(c)(1)(v) and (2)(v) of Title 25 are
22 repealed:
23 § 1328. Approval of registration applications.
24 * * *
25 (c) Processing of voter registration.--
26 (1) When a commission has accepted a voter registration
27 application under subsection (b)(3), the commission shall
28 assign each applicant a unique identification number in the
29 SURE system. The commission shall mail a wallet-sized voter's
30 identification card to the individual by first class
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 1 nonforwardable mail, return postage guaranteed, which shall
2 serve as notice of the acceptance of the application. The
3 card shall contain all of the following:
4 * * *
5 [(v) Designation of party enrollment and date of
6 enrollment.]
7 * * *
8 (2) When a commission has accepted a voter registration
9 application under subsection (b)(4), (5), (6), (7) or (8),
10 the commission shall mail a wallet-sized voter's
11 identification card to the individual by first class
12 nonforwardable mail, return postage guaranteed, which shall
13 serve as notice of the acceptance of the application. The
14 card shall contain all of the following:
15 * * *
16 [(v) Designation of party enrollment and date of
17 enrollment.]
18 * * *
19 Section 3. Section 1402(b)(2) of Title 25 is amended to
20 read:
21 § 1402. District registers.
22 * * *
23 (b) Computer lists.--
24 * * *
25 (2) After a commission is connected to the SURE system,
26 each commission shall create from its general register a
27 computer list to be used as the district register. For each
28 election district, the list shall contain the names of the
29 registered electors of the election district, alphabetically
30 by last name of each registered elector. Each page of the
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 1 list shall contain the name of the county, the election
2 district, the date of the election and the date and time the
3 list was prepared. The computer list shall be in a form
4 prescribed by the secretary and must contain necessary
5 information that would otherwise be available in the general
6 register, including a legible digitized or electronic
7 signature[,] and the street address [and political party] of
8 each registered elector, and suitable space for insertion of
9 the signature of the registered elector and for insertion by
10 the proper election official of the number and letter of the
11 stub of the ballot issued to the registered elector or the
12 registered elector's number in the order of admission to the
13 voting systems and the initials of the election official who
14 enters the record of voting in the district register and
15 whether the elector needs assistance to vote and, if so, the
16 nature of the disability. The district register shall be kept
17 at the office of the commission and shall be open to public
18 inspection, subject to reasonable safeguards, rules and
19 regulations.
20 * * *
21 Section 4. Section 1503 of Title 25 is repealed:
22 [§ 1503. Change of enrollment of political party.
23 By the deadline for registration, a registered elector who
24 desires to change the enrollment of political designation or
25 who, although registered, has not previously enrolled as a
26 member of a party may appear before a commissioner, registrar or
27 clerk or may submit an application by mail under section 1324
28 (relating to application by mail) and state in a signed writing
29 the political party in which the registered elector desires to
30 be enrolled. If the signature of the elector is verified by
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 1 comparison with the registered elector's signature as it appears
2 on file with the commission, the commissioner, registrar or
3 clerk shall make the change in its registration records. If
4 supported by other evidence of identity, a mark may be made in
5 lieu of a signature by a registered elector who is unable to
6 write. The mark must be made in the presence of a witness who
7 must sign the registration application.]
8 Section 5. Section 1711(a)(2) and (3) of Title 25 are
9 amended to read:
10 § 1711. Preventing registration.
11 (a) Prohibition.--No person may do any of the following:
12 * * *
13 (2) By coercion, threats of bodily injury or
14 intimidation, intentionally prevent or attempt to prevent an
15 applicant who is a qualified elector from being registered
16 [or a registered elector from changing political enrollment]
17 in accordance with the provisions of this part.
18 [(3) Intentionally give or promise or offer to give
19 money or goods to an individual as an inducement for the
20 individual to enroll in a particular party or for a
21 registrant to change political enrollment.]
22 * * *
23 Section 6. Section 1712(a)(1) of Title 25 is repealed:
24 § 1712. Approval of registration.
25 (a) Prohibition.--A person may not do any of the following:
26 [(1) Intentionally alter a party designation without a
27 request from the registered elector.]
28 * * *
29 Section 7. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 3806: 25-1204(a)(3)(iii)(, 25-1302(b)(7), 25-1322(a), 25-1323(g)(1), 25-1324(a), 25-1325(b)(6), 25-1), 25-1327(a)(1)(v), 25-4)(iv), 25-7)