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HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday signed what is being called the most significant improvement to Pennsylvania’s elections in more than 80 years.
In signing the legislation — Act 77 of 2019 — Wolf said it will make voting more convenient and secure.
The law, which takes effect after the upcoming Nov. 5 general election, creates a new option to vote by mail up to 50 days before an election and be placed on a list to permanently receive a ballot application by mail.
It also eliminates straight-party voting in general elections, provides more time to register to vote and authorizes a $90 million bond to help counties fund the purchase of new state-mandated voting systems that require paper ballots or receipts that can be checked by voters and kept in case tallies are questioned.
“This bill makes voting more convenient and more secure for millions of Pennsylvanians and continues my commitment to modernizing our elections,” Wolf said. “This is the biggest change to our elections in generations and will strengthen our democracy by removing barriers to the voting booth and encouraging more people to vote. I applaud all of the legislators and stakeholders for their work with my administration and their spirit of compromise.”
Increasing the opportunity to vote increases turnout. According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report in 2016, providing more days to register to vote and no-excuse mail-in ballots increased voter participation by more than 4%. That is nearly 250,000 votes in Pennsylvania.
The law authorizes the governor to pursue a $90 million bond to reimburse counties for 60% of their actual costs to replace voting systems.
Counties must pick a system by the end of the year and start using it by the April 2020 primary. At least 52 counties, or 78%, have taken official action toward selecting a new voting system. And 46 counties, or 68%, plan to use their new systems Nov. 5.
Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri thanked county legislators for supporting the change.
“In addition to some much needed election reforms, this bill means over $2 million coming to Luzerne County for the purchase of new voting machines,” Pedri said.
Luzerne County Council plans to vote on Pedri’s recommended paper-trail system in December.
Some details about changes:
No excuse mail-in voting
The law creates a new option to vote by mail without providing an excuse, which is currently required for voters using absentee ballots. Pennsylvania joins 31 other states and Washington, D.C. with mail-in voting that removes barriers to elections.
50-day mail-in voting period
All voters can request and submit their mail-in or absentee ballot up to 50 days before the election, which is the longest vote-by-mail period in the country.
Permanent mail-in and absentee ballot list
Voters can request to receive applications for mail-in or absentee ballots for all primary, general and special elections held in a given year. Counties will mail applications to voters on the list by the first Monday of each February. Voters who return an application will receive ballots for each election scheduled through the next February. Pennsylvania is the 12th state to provide voters with the automatic option.
15 more days to register to vote
The deadline to register to vote is extended to 15 days from 30 days before an election. Cutting the current deadline by half enables more people to participate in elections. The new more flexible and voter-friendly deadlines provide more time to register to vote than 24 other states.
Extends mail-in and absentee submission deadlines
Voters can submit mail-in and absentee ballots until 8 p.m. on election day. The current deadline is 5 p.m. on the Friday before an election, which is the most restrictive in the country. Pennsylvanians submitted 195,378 absentee ballots in 2018, but 8,162 – more than 4% – missed the deadline and were rejected. The national average is only 2%.