Jun. 10, 2020
HARRISBURG – Rep. Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny/Washington) announced todayher legislation that would help ensure election integrity under Pennsylvania’s new election law has passed the Senate and now heads to the governor’s desk.
House 2502 would require that no later than 60 days after the 2020 general primary election, which occurred on June 2, the Department of State must issue a report containing voter data to the State Government committees of the state House and Senate.
“In 2019, we passed historic and sweeping changes to Pennsylvania’s election laws,” said Mihalek. “Leading up to the June 2 primary, I offered this legislation to be able to gather data quickly after the electionso we are able to ensure a smooth implementation of our Commonwealth’s new voting reform law,
Act 77 of 2019.”
Pennsylvania’s June 2 primary was the first election operated under election reforms adopted as part of Act 77 of 2019. Those reforms included allowing no-excuse voting by mail for the first time. In light of COVID-19 concerns, approximately 1.8 million Pennsylvania voters applied for and were approved to vote by mail-in and absentee ballot, according to the Department of State. That is 17 times greater than the number of voters who applied for an absentee ballot for the last presidential primary in 2016.
Under Mihalek’s bill, the report would have to include data from each county in the Commonwealth, such as the number of applications for an absentee ballot that were approved and received; the number of applications for a mail-in ballot that were approved and received; the number of mail-in and absentee ballots that were voted by electors; the number of qualified electors voting by a provisional ballot; and more.
“A free and fair election is a basic tenet of this nation,” continued Mihalek. “We must ensure the integrity of our elections here in Pennsylvania, and I thank my colleagues in both the House and Senate for voting in favor of this legislation.”
House Bill 2502 passed both the House and Senate and now goes to the governor’s desk.
Representative Natalie Mihalek
40th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Brooke Haskell
717.260.6351
bhaskell@pahousegop.com
RepMihalek.com /
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