County election officials would get up to a week to prepare mail-in ballots for counting under legislation now headed to the state House for consideration.
The process of removing vote-by-mail ballots from their envelopes has delayed election results since 2020, when Pennsylvanians first had the option to cast absentee ballots without an excuse for not voting in person.
Under Act 77, signed into law in 2019, county election workers have been allowed to begin pre-canvassing mail-in ballots only after polls open at 7 a.m. on Election Day. Election officials and county commissioners have consistently said more time is needed to ensure election results can be reported in a timely manner.
House Bill 37, introduced by Rep. Scott Conklin (D-Centre), would allow county boards of elections to meet up to seven days before an election to pre-canvass ballots.
The proposal passed the House State Government Committee with a 15-11 vote Tuesday. Rep. Catherine Wallen of Adams County was the only Republican voting in support. It now goes to the full chamber for consideration.
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Under an amendment offered by committee Chairperson Carol Hill-Evans (D-York), the bill also would require officials to begin pre-canvassing mail-in ballots no later than 7 a.m. on Election Day and continue without interruption until each ballot received before the 8 p.m. deadline has been processed.
The committee passed the amendment 24-2, with Republican Reps. Scott Barger of Blair County and Wendy Fink of York County opposed.
An election and voting reform omnibus bill that included additional time to process mail ballots passed the House and Senate in 2021. But then-Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the package because it included a voter ID requirement.
Also Tuesday, the panel approved legislation to modernize campaign finance reporting requirements for state candidates in a 16-10 vote, sending it to the House floor for consideration.
Reintroduced by Judiciary Chairperson Tim Briggs (D-Montgomery), HB 1262 would mandate candidates to file their disclosures of campaign donations and spending electronically.
Briggs told the State Government Committee that he worked to draft the bill with the Pennsylvania Department of State during Republican Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration. With GOP lawmakers in control of the House until 2022, Briggs said he was unable to get the bill through the panel.
Rep. Brad Roae (R-Crawford), the ranking Republican member of the committee, urged colleagues to oppose the measure because of the hardship it could cause for candidates who are not “computer savvy” or lack broadband internet access in their communities. All but two Republican members, Rep. Russell Diamond of Lebanon County and Wallen, voted “no.”
“It’s so much easier to do it electronically,” Diamond said. “And there are too many ways to play games with a paper reporting system to hide finance from your opponents or from the public.”
Source: PA Capital-Star