<aside> 🗳️ About This Report
This report aims to build confidence in Pennsylvania’s voting system by shedding light on the processes, checks, and quality assurance steps in place that ensure fair and free elections, and, ultimately, a stronger democracy.
Here you will find a detailed overview of the processes and offices and personnel that govern vote counting and election certification, as well as a timeline of key dates. We have also identified potential process and personnel vulnerabilities to better help our pro-democracy partners monitor our elections and target corrective action to protect the integrity of our elections.
Please note, throughout the report, the blue ballot icon indicates research on legal and election process questions. The orange ballot icon indicates strategic research and potential threats. If you would like to share any feedback on this report or have questions for our research team, contact us at: info[at]informingdemocracy[dot]org.
</aside>
Pennsylvania election procedures are codified in statute. Pennsylvania does not have the same extensive election administrative rule-making as is common in other states. However, the Department of State (DOS) also issues guidance and directives on various election questions to County Boards of Elections. The guidance and directives are not binding. Rather they have the force of law only to the extent they rely on other authorities, such as statute and court cases.
This lack of ability to issue binding clarifying guidance where there are gaps in the law is one of the factors that leads to increased local discretion and variation in practices across the state. For instance, one notable area of local variation is whether counties provide (or don’t provide) the opportunity for voters to cure their provisional ballots.
There are strong protections for election integrity in Pennsylvania law, including strict penalties in the election code that may be used to to compel election officers to fulfill their election duties, and in severe cases charge officials with misdemeanors. 25 P.S. § 2549, 3555.
This section provides information about the key officers and personnel in charge of election administration in Pennsylvania. Click on each office below for complete details.
Joint State Government Commission’s Election Law Advisory Board
This section provides information about the election administration processes that key Pennsylvania election officials at the county and state level undertake after polls close on Election Day. These processes must follow a strict cadence prescribed by statute that ensures that election results are timely certified and accurately reflect the will of voters. Click on each process section below for complete details.
Voter Challenges + Challenged Ballots
Emergency Powers: Court of Common Pleas
Legal Protections for Canvass + Certification
Spotlight on Home Rule Counties
While we believe in the security of elections in Pennsylvania, we expect to see continued efforts to undermine elections through the delay of certification or a flood of citizen-led recount petitions, similar to those seen in past cycles. This could lead to increased chaos and a potential delay in the vote counting process in the state.
We have also tried to identify individuals closely involved in the administration of Pennsylvania's elections who could pose such threats, as well as identifying concerning patterns involving those who run the Commonwealth’s elections and how some officers of elections are trained. Read more about these potential vulnerabilities here:
Potential 2024 Election Vulnerabilities in Pennsylvania