Unlike many vague and anachronistic portions of Pennsylvania’s Election Code, the federal Electoral Count Reform Act establishes a firm deadline for states to certify presidential election results and changes the date on which electors meet in their respective states. However, Pennsylvania law currently lacks important deadlines for certain crucial post-electoral processes and thus risks missing the federally imposed deadline for certifying future presidential election results. Therefore, I am introducing a bill to align Pennsylvania’s election processes with the requirements of the federal Electoral Count Reform Act.
 
More specifically, this legislation will:
1. Provide a deadline by which the Secretary of State must certify results of any general, municipal, or special election following the county canvass. Currently, the Election Code provides the Secretary with broad discretion on when to certify, requiring only that the Secretary certify results “forthwith.”
2. Require the Secretary of State to notify the General Assembly in advance if they have reason to believe that such certification will not happen by the specified deadline.
3. Provide deadlines for the Courts to make determinations in election cases, without limiting any right to appeal.
4. Provide deadlines for Class II contest procedures which currently do not exist in the Election Code.
 
These small but important changes will help ensure that deadline delays in the post-election process do not prevent Pennsylvania from transmitting timely electoral results in future elections. I ask that you join me in support of this effort to modernize our election certification process and ensure our compliance with federal law by co-sponsoring this important bill.