Pennsylvania House committee passes bill expanding pre-canvassing

Pennsylvania counties are on the verge of a major breakthrough in their ability to process mail-in ballots for elections. A state House committee has voted in favor of a bill that would allow for pre-canvassing, giving election officials the ability to open mail-in ballot envelopes and prepare them to be tallied prior to Election Day. This move has long been advocated for by administrators in Pennsylvania, who argue that it would allow counties to report election results more quickly.

The bill, introduced by Democratic state Rep. Scott Conklin, would give counties seven days to process mail-in and absentee ballots before Election Day. It would also move the deadline for voters to request mail-in or absentee ballots to 11 days prior to Election Day instead of the current seven days.

“This bill is something that is asked for by the people who [run elections] because they are tired of being blamed for something that they didn’t do,” Conklin told Votebeat Pennsylvania. “They’re tired of people waiting three days for the election results. This gives them a chance days early to get those [results] ready to go out.”

The proposed election measure still needs to pass through the full state House, which is controlled by Democrats. It will then need to pass the Republican-controlled state Senate before it arrives on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-PA) desk. While it is unclear whether Shapiro will sign the bill, he has expressed support for pre-canvassing and voter ID.

Republicans on the House State Government Committee unanimously voted against the bill, with some arguing that it was a solution in search of a problem. However, the bill could still face opposition due to party conflicts over other election measures, such as voter ID.

Pennsylvania lawmakers expanded the state’s use of mail-in voting in 2019, which county administrators have blamed for the inability to announce unofficial results quickly. In 2020, several Pennsylvania counties took multiple days to report unofficial results, prompting false claims by former President Donald Trump and his allies that Democrats were manipulating the election outcome in the state. Despite these challenges, Pennsylvania remains committed to improving its electoral process and ensuring that every vote counts.

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