As Pennsylvania House advances doomed election overhaul, Senate GOP charts different course to voter ID, other changes | Marie Albiges/Philadelphia Inquirer
The Pennsylvania House passed an election overhaul bill Tuesday that creates stricter voter ID requirements and early voting in 2025, despite opposition from most Democrats and a promised veto from Gov. Tom Wolf. The state Senate is poised to take up the measure in the coming days, but Republican lawmakers in the chamber are charting a separate path that would advance the priorities of county election officials while putting stricter voter ID requirements on a future ballot. The topic has emerged as a partisan sticking point in Harrisburg. Currently, only first-time voters and those casting ballots at a new polling precinct are required to show ID. Roughly three-quarters of respondents to a recent Franklin & Marshall College poll of Pennsylvania voters said they favor requiring all voters to show photo ID. Democrats call any new such ID restrictions “voter suppression,” while Republicans say it makes elections more secure. The reality is more complicated, with a 2019 study showing such laws don’t reduce already-rare fraud or voter turnout. House lawmakers spent more than three hours Tuesday debating Rep. Seth Grove’s 150-page election bill, which also places limits on drop boxes; requires more comprehensive audits of ballots, machines, and processes; and calls for the state to reimburse each county for electronic poll books.
Full Article: As Pa. House advances doomed election overhaul, Senate GOP charts different course to voter ID, other changes