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The House State Government Committee on Tuesday advanced a bill that would modernize Pennsylvania's elections in several ways, including allowing no-excuse absentee voting.
Legislation that would open up no-excuse absentee voting to Pennsylvanians who want to skip the hassle of standing in line to vote on Election Day to cast a ballot is advancing in the House of Representatives.
The multi-faceted election modernization legislation also would eliminate straight-party voting that allowed voters to push one button to automatically cast their vote for all the Republican or Democratic candidates on the ballot. It would shorten the timeframe between the voter registration deadline and election to 15 days instead of the current 30 days. Among other changes, it would extend the deadline for absentee voters to mark and turn in their ballot to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
The House State Government Committee on Tuesday voted 17-8, mostly along party-lines with all but two Democrats opposing it, to move the bill along in the legislative process. The legislation is expected to be amended in the House Appropriations Committee to include providing $90 million to counties to help them pay for the cost of replacing their voting machines that Gov. Tom Wolf ordered.
The legislation was the result of a compromise reached Republican legislative leaders and Wolf, who vetoed a similar bill that reached his desk this summer. Wolf, who continues to monitor the progress of this elections bill, sees the measure as a “reasonable step forward towards improving our antiquated voting laws,” said his spokesman J.J. Abbott.
But it was clear at the committee meeting that House Democrats think the governor should veto this bill too.
Rep. Kevin Boyle, D-Philadelphia, raised a concern about the burden that shortening the timeframe between the voter registration deadline and election day to 15 days will place on county election officials since it does not come with additional funding to hire extra help. He called it unreasonable and "could lead to mass chaos at the polls and mass usage of provisional ballots which are highly problematic to count.”
Committee Chairman Garth Everett, R-Lycoming County, said he shares that concern based on conversations he has had with his county election officials but this was one of the governor’s initiatives that he wanted in the bill in order for it to gain his signature.
The idea behind it is “they think it’ll give more people an opportunity to sign up as they see the election getting closer," Everett said. Further, he noted other states - in fact 21 of them – offer same-day registration and figured out how to process registrations quickly.
Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, was critical of the elimination of the straight-party voting option particularly at this time when the state is introducing new voting machines at polling places across the state.
“We already have lines out the wazoo of people who are standing there for 20, 30, 40 minutes trying to get in to vote and getting ready rid of the straight ticket voting is going to make that process longer,” he said. “I’m deeply concerned about the people that choose to leave because the voting process is now longer than it has been.”
Rep. Matt Gabler, R-Clearfield County, was among the members who responded to those concerns. Gabler spoke in favor of ending straight-party voting. He said people should vote for the individual candidates they support, not the party.
“This gives voters the opportunity not to be coerced into taking a short cut but to actually give them the opportunity to vote for who they believe in,” he said.
As for the concern about long lines at the polls, Everett and other members suggested that the no-excuse mail-in absentee ballot option could help those time-pressed voters to participate in elections.
Rep. Pam DeLissio, D-Philadelphia, along with fellow Philadelphia Democratic Rep. Jared Solomon were the lone Democrats to support the bill. DeLissio said having the convenience of mail-in voting creates “an opportunity to engage many more people than currently exercise their right to vote.” She said she intended to promote that option to her constituents.
According to Keystone Votes, a nonpartisan coalition of 41 organizations, at least 30 states allow their residents to vote absentee without an excuse. Further, it said a recent statewide public opinion poll by Susquehanna Polling and Research, nearly two-thirds (64%) of Pennsylvania voters favor allowing no-excuse absentee voting in the Keystone State, including those who identify as Republican (63%), Democrat (66%) and Independent (59%).
“We need to continue our work to make voting more convenient, more secure and equally accessible for all who are eligible,” said Ray Murphy, state coordinator for Keystone Votes. He added: “This provision does that, but it is only one piece of a larger puzzle. There is more we can and should do to update our election system. The bipartisan momentum makes us hopeful we can tackle other important measures before the 2020 election.”
Some of the other provisions in the bill include prohibiting the use of stickers to cast write-in votes because with the optical scanners that the new voting machines use will not be able to read them; reduces the number of printed ballots that counties are required to have on hand on Election Day; and allows permanently disabled voters to submit a single absentee ballot application that would be applicable to other elections held throughout that calendar year and for any special elections held before the third Monday of February in the succeeding year.
*This story was updated to include comments from Keystone Votes and its state coordinator Ray Murphy.
Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.