Latest News from State Capitol and 55th District

May 15, 2025

Fighting for Fair Elections

Public trust in our elections is eroding, and many voters across Pennsylvania and the nation have serious concerns about election security, transparency and accountability. When people don’t believe the system is fair, democracy suffers.

That’s why I voted against House Bill 1396. This legislation proposes sweeping changes to our Election Code that would further weaken safeguards, burden counties with unfunded mandates and open the door to fraud and confusion at the ballot box. It would codify and require the use of drop boxes, mandate electronic pollbooks and eliminate ballot security measures.

Some of these measures alone may not be too bad, but as a package, they have the potential to allow more election fraud and cost our cash-strapped counties a ton of money.

House Bill 1396 would eliminate the requirement that a ballot have a dated declaration or a valid secrecy envelope in order to be counted.

A permanent mail-in ballot list application would be established and would be included in each application for a mail-in ballot. Voters on the permanent mail-in ballot list would receive a votable mail-in ballot at every election, until the voter revokes his or her status or ceases being a qualified elector. Because many voters don't update the election bureau when they move and families often don't report a voter's death, the system can be vulnerable to fraud.

Counties would be required to establish drop-box locations; at least two drop boxes must be provided, to be “arrayed throughout the county.” Additional drop boxes would be provided for every 50,000 registered voters above 100,000 voters. No county or municipality would be able to prohibit or inhibit the use of drop boxes. At least one would be available 24 hours per day and would be available at least 30 days prior to each election. Ballots would be removed at least once every day by at least two individuals, with collection and chain of custody provisions established.

This bill would also require counties to establish in-person early voting sites open from the 11th day prior to an election until the Sunday prior. These sites would be open for at least eight hours and no more than 12 hours per day, between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., as determined by the Board of Elections. Counties would be required to enable any registered voter of the county to vote at a site and provide all types of ballots necessary for voters of any precinct in the county at each site. Every county would be required to maintain at least one site, with an additional site required for every 100,000 registered voters in a county.

Counties would be required to use electronic pollbooks at all early voting locations and precincts for each primary and general election held after Dec. 31, 2026. The Secretary of State would have the authority to set standards for these pollbooks and certify systems that meet those standards. While funding would be provided to the Department of State for examining and approving pollbook systems and developing a secure network, the cost to counties to implement and maintain this technology would be enormous.

These measures make huge financial demands on our counties, many of which are struggling to fulfill basic services without tax hikes.
The General Assembly has a duty to ensure our laws support elections that are safe, secure and worthy of the public’s trust.

Unfortunately, this bill falls short by ignoring the real challenges and failing to provide the tools necessary to safeguard our democracy.


Representative Jill Cooper
55th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jordan Frei
724.875.8450
jfrei@pahousegop.com
RepJillCooper.com / Facebook.com/RepJillCooper