HARRISBURG, Pa. — Following a tumultuous 2020 election, the Pennsylvania House began an in-depth evaluation of how to improve the state’s election process. The State Government Committee is holding a series of 14 hearings on various election topics.
Though Republican legislators had launched multiple legal challenges against decisions made in the 2020 election in Pennsylvania, the chair of the State Government Committee, State Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), said the hearings were not meant to relitigate the election, but rather make reforms for future ones.
“We accept the outcomes. We’re moving on,” Grove said. “What we want to do is better law moving forward that takes away any doubt, that ensures that we have accessibility, we have trust, we have integrity.”
Grove said taking a deep look at each aspect of elections and how they can be improved will help restore voter confidence in elections. Seventy percent of Republicans don’t believe the election was fair, according to a November Politico/Morning Consult poll.
“Because of all the confusion that was out there, if they don’t trust the process, they’re not going to trust the results,” said State Rep. Dawn Keefer (R-Dillsburg).
Thursday’s hearing focused on election guidance: the written policies that guide election practices from pre-canvassing to ballot signature matching.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar testified at the hearing, answering questions from representatives.
She said one way she’d like to see election reform is creating more uniform rules across Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.
“In Pennsylvania we have certain state rules, like deadlines for voter registration, deadlines for absentee ballots, that are uniform,” Boockvar said. “And then we have other rules that are at the discretion of the counties.”
Boockvar suggested one solution would be to require poll workers from across all counties to get the same training. She also wanted to add some rules that would apply to all counties, such as extending the pre-canvassing period.
The election hearings run every week through April 22, and can be livestreamed online. You can find a schedule here.