Keystone Today

A voter ID requirement and uniform audits of elections cleared the Pennsylvania House this week as part of a package of proposed constitutional amendments.

Both provisions were also part of a sweeping election measure vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, in June. If the proposed election amendments are approved by the Senate, and again by both chambers during the 2023-24 legislative session, they will appear on a statewide ballot and become law with voter approval.

State Rep. Martin Causer (R-Cameron) said that the voter ID provision will require voters to produce identification each time they vote, no matter the method of voting.

“There is broad support among all Pennsylvanians – Republicans, Democrats and Independents – for expanded voter ID laws to boost election security,” Causer said in a statement. “We already show ID for most everything we do. It is not too much to ask to have people present ID when exercising their right to vote.”

Polls show that voters overwhelmingly support voter ID provisions. A June Franklin & Marshall College poll showed 74% of voters across demographic lines support voter ID as a way of ensuring secure elections.

The other voter integrity provision approved by the House would require a comprehensive approach to auditing elections, including the administration of elections, certification of election machines, the accuracy of the list of registered voters, and the administration of voter registration and election results.

“It was Gov. Wolf who demanded Pennsylvania update every voting machine to ensure there is a paper trail to track our election processes and outcomes,” Rep. Dawn Keefer (R-York) said in a statement. “Ensuring a thorough audit process is in place to re-examine our processes, machines and outcomes going forward is a continuing of bipartisan efforts to protect election integrity.”

The package of proposed constitutional amendments, which also includes provisions on regulatory reforms and limitations on executive orders, passed the Republican-controlled House 113 -87. The Senate, also under Republican control, is almost certain to approve the package when members return to session in January after a holiday recess.

Wolf's second four-year term ends in January 2022, and he is prohibited by the state Constitution from serving a third straight term.

President Joe Biden carried Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes in the 2020 presidential election. Unfounded claims by former President Donald Trump that he lost the Quaker State due to voter fraud have led to many of the Republican-led calls for election reform.