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LWVPA Opposes Election Reform Bills HB1300 & SB735

House Bill 1300 proposes several reforms to Pennsylvania Election Law. The LWVPA opposes several measures of this bill including,

shifting the voter registration deadline back to 30 days before the election,
setting conditions for ballot return locations that would limit their availability, and
creating many unfunded mandates that would burden county election boards.

Read the full text of HB1300 --> HB1300

SB735 proposes an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution adding new voter ID requirements. The LWVPA opposes this bill on the grounds that

specific voter ID requirements are matters for legislation and codes, and not the Constitution,
Pennsylvania already has sufficient voter ID requirements.

Read the full text of SB375 --> SB735

"For over a century the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania has worked to expand access to the ballot and to create an informed, empowered citizenry...

...[The] bill offers small fixes for the most pressing requests from county election officials, but far more of the bill appears designed to address non-existent problems and discourage potential voters...

...On behalf of PA voters, we ask legislators to set HB 1300 aside, wait for recommendations approved by a majority of the Election Law Advisory Board, and vote quickly on long-neglected redistricting reform bills with broad bipartisan support, HB 22 and SB 222."

Read Full LWVPA Statement

The League of Women Voters has always advocated on behalf of ballot access, fair election law, and issues of transparency and good government. In 2021, the LWVPA will focus advocacy on four issues in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Click on the binoculars to jump to an issue.

2021 Advocacy Priorities
* Note: To receive frequent updates and action alerts on priorities #1-3, join the Fair Districts PA Mailing List.
Fair Districts PA is a project of LWVPA, and part of the LWVUS "People Powered Fair Maps" campaign.
Fair Districts PA

Legislative Rules Reform

Redistricting

Proposed Amendment to

Elect Judges by Region

Election Law Reform

The Lawmaking Process in the PA General Assembly

Before contacting your representatives about a bill you are following, it's important to understand the steps and common roadblocks in the legislative process. Many times, your own representatives will not have the opportunity to vote for or against a bill because it is "stuck in committee," or because the Speaker of the House or President of the Senate will not bring it up for a vote.

There are at least four places where a gatekeeper, always a member of the majority party, can single-handedly stop the progress of a bill. When this happens, you need to contact the gatekeeper in addition to your own representative.

Learn more about the role of the gatekeepers and how to up your advocacy in the "Tracking a Bill in the PA General Assembly" infographic.

Direct link for sharing: www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=759674

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Gatekeeper #1

House Committee Chair

When an idea for new legislation is first developed, it is introduced by one or more legislative sponsors, assigned a number, like House Bill 38, and sent to one of several standing committees for review. These committees review the bill, and may hold hearings or gather information. Then they decide whether or not to support the bill.

But Committee Chairs can refuse to consider the bill. In effect, one vote from the chair can defeat the bill at this stage.

Gatekeeper #2

Speaker of the House

If the bill makes it out of committee, the Speaker of the House may bring it before the chamber for debate and review... or may not. There are no rules or norms requiring the Speaker to bring a bill to the floor, even if it has broad bi-partisan support. This allows the Speaker of the House to stop any legislation he or she is opposed to.

The current Speaker of the House is

Representative Bryan Cutler

(717) 783-6424

Gatekeeper #3

 Senate Committee Chair

When the bill is sent to the Senate, the same process plays out again. Again, the chair of the standing committee can simply set aside the bill, never advancing it out of committee.

The current President pro Tempore of the Senate is Senator Jake Corman

(717) 787-1377

Gatekeeper # 4

President pro Tempore of the Senate

If a bill makes it to the Senate, the President pro Tempore can unilaterally decide not to bring it to the floor for a vote, just like in the House.

Legislative Rules Reform

The LWVPA supports reforms to the procedural rules in the General Assembly enacting best practices ensuring that all legislators have a voice, and collaboration is encouraged. These best practices include guaranteeing a committee vote to every bill, and floor vote to every bill that makes it out of committee. Legislation is still being developed to address Rules Reform in the General Assembly. When this legislation is introduced, bill numbers and recommended actions will be posted here.

The Legislative and Congressional Redistricting Act (LACRA)

has been introduced as HB 22, SB222.

LWVPA strongly supports this bill, which would ensure transparency and accountability in the redistricting process.

House Bill 22 and Senate Bill 222 Current Status
Senate Bill 222 was gutted by a last-minute amendment just before the PA General Assembly recessed for the summer.

Read the update from Fair Districts PA. Gut and Replacement of SB222

Election of Judges by Region - House Bill 38

The LWVPA strongly opposes HB 38, which would advance the process of amending the PA Constitution to create regional districts for judges in the Commonwealth, Superior, and Supreme Courts of PA. The LWVPA joins the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Fair Districts PA, the Committee of Seventy, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, and other good government organizations in opposing HB38.

House Bill 38 Current Status

HB 38 was passed by the Judiciary Committee and sent to the full House on January 13th.

HB 38 was tabled by the Speaker of the House on January 13th, temporarily halting consideration of the bill.

HB38 will not pass in time to put the Judicial Districting amendment on the ballot for the November election.

Election Law Reform Hearings

LWVPA supports the continuation of No-excuse Absentee Voting (Mail-in Voting) with some change in implementation, including

allowing pre-canvassing of mail-in ballots 7 days before Election Day,
allowing voters to "cure" (correct) mail-in ballots that are rejected due to errors in the signature.

Carol Kuniholm, LWVPA Vice President for Goverment and Social Policy, testified at the PA House State Government Hearing on April 15, 2021. For information on LWVPA's positions on election law, read her testimony here: Election Law Testimony to PA State Govt. Committee, 4/15.

Election Law Reform -- Current Status

Governor Wolf vetoed this bill on June 30, 2021. Read his statement here.
Read the full text of the bill here:.HB1300

You can read the LWVPA statement on HB1300 here: LWVPA response to HB1300

The House State Government Committee has completed holding a series of hearings on Election Law.
The Committee Chair is Rep. Seth Grove.
(717) 260-6374

Recordings of these sessions are available at
www.PAHouseGOP.com/electionlawhearings

The Links You Need to Track a Bill

The Pennsylvania General Assembly website has several tools for tracking legislation and your representatives.

You can find your own representatives and their contact information here: Find Your PA Legislator

Click on their names to see what legislation they've sponsored, and what committees they're on.

You can read the text of a bill, or sign up for notifications of the bill's progress here: Track a Bill

Find a list of standing committee chairs here for the State House: Standing Committee Chairs - House.

And here for the State Senate: Standing Committee Chairs - Senate

Are you new to contacting your elected officials? These two documents can help.

The "Keep it Simple" infographic has tips and and sample script for calling or emailing your representatives.

If you live in Allegheny County, bookmark the "Facts for Citizens" directory so you can find contact information for most of your federal, state, and local elected officials in one place.

Direct link for sharing: www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=741434

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Find the latest copy of Facts for Citizens at lwvpgh.org/ffc

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Legislative Rules Reform

Election of Judges by Region - House Bill 38