Keystone Today

State Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), one of the state’s leading advocates for election reform, issued his third report in two years this month on the “chaos” in the commonwealth’s election process, and placed much of the blame for it on Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.

Wolf vetoed expansive election reform legislation (HB 1300) last June that Grove says would have solved most of the ongoing problems with election procedures in the Commonwealth.

“If the governor allowed 1300 to become law, elections would look much different today,” Grove said during a State Capitol press conference unveiling his report on the state of election procedures in the Commonwealth. “We would have voter ID, real in-person voting, independent election audits, increased access and transparency, secure use of drop boxes. Instead now we have a system where you close your eyes and authorize.”

"We can't ignore the multitude of issues with our election process," he added.

The report covers the state of election procedures since the release of his prior election report in May 2021. It’s not encouraging, Grove said.

“In that time, we have seen a county court race sit undetermined for more than six months, instigating litigation that reached all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court,” he wrote in the report’s conclusion. “We have seen the Commonwealth Court rule that no-excuse mail-in voting violates the Pennsylvania Constitution, raising questions as to the process for future elections despite the Supreme Court’s stay of that ruling, and we have continued to see results reported on Election Day differ substantially from the final results of elections, confusing much of the public and contributing to a lack of faith in our election system.

“This is in addition to the myriad of administrative errors that continue to afflict counties in each election, from insufficient numbers of ballots to vendor errors in printing,” he added.

In response to the governor’s veto of HB 1300, the Republican-controlled Legislature has taken a piecemeal approach to election reform. Before summer recess, the General Assembly approved legislation, which the governor did sign into law as part of a compromise on an annual spending plan, the banning of private funds underwriting election administration.

Lawmakers also approved two proposed constitutional amendments: that would enact voter ID and post-election audit laws.

Both measures were part of HB 1300. If the proposals are approved again by the General Assembly and then later by the voters, they become law without the governor’s signature.