Keystone Today

The Pennsylvania House Republican caucus announced this week it will take up a sweeping election reform legislation, which includes a voter ID requirement that a recent poll shows strong support among the state’s voters.

With its 113-89 majority in the House, the Republicans are almost certain to have the votes necessary to send the House Bill 1300 to the Senate, where the GOP, likewise, hold a strong majority. The legislation, also known as the Voting Rights Protection Act, addresses a long list of voter concerns raised during four months of hearings by the House State Government.

These concerns stemmed from changes in voting procedures ushered in during the COVID-19 pandemic, including third-party collection of ballots, or ballot harvesting. The new legislation bans this practice.

“Improving accessibility is at the forefront of this bill,” said state Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), chair of the State Government Committee and sponsor of the bill, in a statement announcing the introduction of the legislation. “Over the past few election cycles, we have seen increased voter involvement, and our laws must keep up with demands. No legal voter should be denied the opportunity to cast a ballot. The Voting Rights Protection Act ensures voters have the ability to make their voices heard.”

The Republicans have the voters on their side, according to the results of a Franklin & Marshall College poll released last week.

The poll found that 74% of respondents favored a requirement that all voters show a photo ID, compared to 25% opposed. And 81% of respondents supported requiring that election officials verify signatures on mail-in ballots to signatures in voter registration files, with only 17% opposed.  

All but 16 states have some form of voter ID requirement.

Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, is on record opposing the measure. The Republicans have a plan B if the legislation reaches the governor’s desk and he vetoes it. A proposed constitutional amendment requiring voter ID, recently introduced by two House members, does not require the governor's approval to be placed on the ballot.

The Republicans have recently had good success with their constitutional questions. In May, voters approved two constitutional amendments placed on the primary ballot by the Legislature restricting the governor’s emergency powers. And the same F&M poll that showed strong public support for a voter ID law shows that the governor’s approval rating has plummeted. Only 39% of respondents said Wolf was doing an “excellent” or “good” job. That’s down from 52% in July 2020.