Republicans look to bypass Wolf with latest election reform measure

After failing to earn Gov. Tom Wolf’s signature on a sweeping election law overhaul earlier this year, Republican lawmakers in Harrisburg are trying again, and hoping to cut Wolf out of the process entirely this time around.

The GOP-led House State Government Committee on Monday voted along party lines to advance a wide-ranging set of amendments to the state constitution, including measures that would constitutionally require that voters show ID at the polls and alter how Pennsylvania’s secretary of state is chosen. 

The proposed amendments, contained in House Bill 1596, mark the latest attempt from legislative Republicans in recent months to update the state’s voting laws. 

Lawmakers approved a statutory measure, House Bill 1300, in June, which would have established voter ID requirements, signature verification requirements, allowed five days for county officials to pre-canvass mail ballots and created a framework for early voting in the state. The bill was ultimately vetoed by Wolf, who said the proposal would make it harder to vote. 

State Rep. Jeff Wheeland, who sponsors HB 1596, said the measure would modernize the state’s election laws. He stressed that making the secretary of state an elected position could help remove politics from the position. 

“Being an elected row office position in the Commonwealth certainly [could] take away the partisan politics that tends to go on in that department,” Wheeland said. “Ultimately, it will be the citizens of Pennsylvania that will determine the outcome of this particular bill and obviously these amendments.”

Because HB 1596 would amend the state constitution, it would not need the governor’s approval to take effect. Instead, lawmakers must pass the measure – in the same form – in two consecutive legislative sessions. Then the proposed amendments would be placed on the ballot for voters to decide.

HB 1596 would do the following:

• Require voters to show ID before voting in person or when requesting a mail ballot
• Make the Pennsylvania secretary of state an elected position
• Require signatures on ballots to be verified before a ballot is accepted
• Prohibit third party organizations from funding election administration 
• Require the Pennsylvania auditor general to conducts audits of all elections
• Make all ballots available for public inspection for at least two years

The bill drew quick condemnation from Democrats, particularly for the language that would remove a governor’s ability to choose a secretary of state and instead give that power to voters.

“I can tell you assuredly that this is not the right path we want to go down,” said state Rep. Scott Conklin, who serves as the minority chair of the House State Government Committee. Conklin countered that electing a secretary of state could make the administration of elections more partisan.

Deborah Rose Hinchey, the executive director of the nonprofit Better Pennsylvania, also raised concerns with HB 1596. Hinchey said the proposal represents a “dangerous misuse of the constitutional amendment process to circumvent a democratically-elected governor.”

The committee’s approval of HB 1596 also comes as Senate Republicans conduct a “forensic investigation” of the state’s 2020 and 2021 election results amid pressure from former President Donald Trump. Trump has pushed for Republican officials to launch a review of the 2020 election results in Pennsylvania, despite multiple audits already confirming that Trump lost the state in 2020.

HB 1596 now heads to the full House for consideration.