Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt speaks during a media briefing on election night inside the Forum Auditorium in Harrisburg on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Commonwealth Media Services photo)
The 2024 presidential election passed into history less than four months ago without any major issues, but Pennsylvania lawmakers are asking what the state’s top election officials are doing to make sure the next one goes off smoothly.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt and his deputies worked to tout the Department of State’s work in other areas, including making progress in speeding up services and other achievements during a House budget hearing Tuesday.
But members from both parties on the House Appropriations Committee largely focused on how the department could improve elections and what the legislature can do to help.
“What are some of the most important things that we can do this term to improve confidence in our elections and to help people do what is fundamental — allow them to vote and have their vote be counted,” Rep. Tim Brennan (D-Bucks) asked.
Schmidt said the state’s should focus on improving ballot access, without negatively affecting election integrity. Several lawmakers, he noted, talked about the popularity of early voting in the most recent election, but added the counties that allowed it had bootstrapped the state’s vote-by-mail law to provide mail-in ballots on a walk-in basis.
“We want voting and the conduct and administration of elections to be as free, free, fair, safe and secure as possible without anything getting in the way of that,” Schmidt said.
Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions Jonathan Marks added passing legislation to allow counties to start processing mail-in ballots earlier would improve confidence in elections.
“What we’ve seen over the years is that the delay in counting absentee and mail ballots, because counties can’t begin that process until Election Day sometimes feeds that mis- and disinformation,” Marks said.
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After the 2020 presidential election, when Pennsylvania took days to announce unofficial results, the question Schmidt said he was asked most was “when will Pennsylvania know its results?” .
“Plenty of other states – red states, blue states – begin that process days, if not weeks, in advance. And as a result, know their results earlier,” he said.
Rep. James Struzzi (R-Indiana), who is the Republican Appropriations Committee chairperson, noted that the legislature passed an election reform bill in 2022 that would have allowed more time, but Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed it.
Rep. Brad Roae (R-Crawford), who serves as the Republican chairperson of the House State Government Committee, noted some aspects of Pennsylvania’s elections differ from county to county. The use of dropboxes for mail-in ballots as an alternative to the U.S. Mail differs widely, with some counties offering dozens of places to deposit ballots while others have none.
In the last election cycle, state courts grappled with questions about whether voters who make mistakes on their mail in ballots should be given a second chance to get them right. Some counties informed voters of “fatal errors” by mail, by email or not at all.
“Does your department have the budget so you can help all 67 counties do things uniformly as mandated by the Constitution regarding elections?” Roae asked.
Schmidt replied the department would first require authority from the General Assembly to require counties to follow a uniform set of rules.
“We cannot … require them to have drop boxes or to prohibit them from having drop boxes. It’s really a question for the legislature and ultimately the courts,” Schmidt said, adding the department has taken care to avoid the perception that the rules are ever changing by not issuing new guidance to local officials within 45 days of an election.
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The Department of State’s budget request is $156 million, and although tit’s among the smallest departmental budgets in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s $51.8 billion spending plan, its work affects a wide range of Pennsylvanians.
In addition to voting and elections, the agency administers licensing for barbers, real estate brokers and agents, physicians and many other professionals. It oversees charities, lobbyists and athletic contests, like the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship held in Philadelphia last month.
Schmidt, who said he attended the fight, noted the State Athletic Commission has made Pennsylvania a destination for such events, which have a significant economic benefit for the commonwealth.
“I’ve been a lifelong boxing fan, so I didn’t really, frankly, know what to think about bare knuckle fighting,” Schmidt said, adding the athletic commission ensured the sold-out event was conducted safely for athletes and the public. “I think it was very responsible. It was honestly a terrifically successful event.”