Update (Oct. 22): At their work session Monday, the county commissioners said the county’s voter registration complies fully with state law and any implication to the contrary is false. Full story:
Update (Oct. 22): In a strongly worded letter (PDF) Monday, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Secretary Al Schmidt told the Lancaster County commissioners they are wrong about Pennsylvania’s election law regarding voter registration and must take corrective action.
“As a matter of sound administration, the Department encourages all voters to
cancel registrations in states where they will no longer vote,” Schmidt wrote. “Yet, nothing in Pennsylvania law allows a county to deny any individual qualified to vote in Pennsylvania their right to do so because that person may not have cancelled a prior voter registration, nor to impose conditions on the registration of
qualified voters,” Schmidt wrote.
Additionally, he said, the county violated election law by not accepting a Connecticut student’s Social Security number as valid ID, rejecting his application for a mail-in ballot and putting his registration status on hold.
“Worse, yet,” Smith wrote, it appears “a significant portion of the applications” the county had held up were not entered into the state’s election system, known as SURE, until Monday, the last day for voter registration, thus not allowing time for voters to challenge their denial, as required by law.
Accordingly, he said, the Lancaster County Elections office must reinstate all otherwise valid voter registrations it put on hold because of registrations elsewhere; and must make a plan to contact affected voters and arrange for provisional voting. He demanded a verbal response “immediately” and a written one by Thursday.
Previously reported:
A local voter registration group and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania are accusing Lancaster County’s Elections Office of providing incorrect information about voter registration and, by doing so, endangering students’ ability to complete their registrations in time to vote Nov. 5.
Laura Medvic is the co-chair of “F&M Votes,” a nonpartisan coalition that promotes voting and conducts voter registration drives at Franklin & Marshall College. She told Politics PA that on Friday, she delivered a set of completed registration forms to Lancaster County Deputy Elections Clerk Lisa Dart.
Medvic said Dart told her that the forms from out-of-state students could not be processed until the students canceled their registrations elsewhere.
That is not true, the ACLU of Pa. says. In a letter (PDF) to county officials, the organization said that “voters may — and routinely do — register after moving to a new state without first canceling their prior registration at their former voting residence.”
In an online FAQ for college students, the Pennsylvania Department of State says, “If you have registered to vote in Pennsylvania after being registered in another state, you should notify the other jurisdiction of your intent to cancel your registration there,” but it does not stipulate that the notification must be completed beforehand.
The website notes: “Regardless of where you register, you can only vote once in each election.”
Medvic said she challenged Dart’s assertion, eventually leaving the registration paperwork with her at the Elections Office.
At least two other individuals were given similar information, F&M Votes co-chair Matt Schousen told PoliticsPA. LNP spoke with one of them, a junior at F&M from Connecticut. He said he was told on Oct. 15 that he could not register in Pennsylvania unless he canceled his registration in his home state and that he was told as well that he would need a Pennsylvania driver’s license.
That is incorrect. On its voter registration portal, Pennsylvania accepts both driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers as valid ID.
The student told LNP that Dart advised him his Pennsylvania voter registration would be put on hold until he canceled his Connecticut registration. On Oct. 16, he said, he looked on the state registration portal and found his registration had been canceled. He subsequently canceled his voter registration in Connecticut and emailed proof to Dart on Thursday, also submitting a new registration application.
His Pennsylvania registration should never have been canceled, the ACLU said. Federal law bars purging people from voter rolls within 90 days before an election.
In a statement, the county commissioners, who also serve as its Board of Elections, said the Elections Office is complying with applicable law. They said F&M was the one providing inaccurate information: namely, that voters are allowed to maintain registration in two states.
Registration applications for which “additional clarification” is needed are put in pending status, the commissioners said, and applicants have until Election Day to provide the information needed to resolve any issues. In the case of the Connecticut student, they said, he was to cancel his out-of-state registration, and the Connecticut has since confirmed to the county that he did so.
The commissioners’ statement did not reference the allegation that the student was told he needed a Pennsylvania driver’s license.
Pennsylvania law explicitly allows students to register where they are living while attending school. “Advising students of the false additional step of canceling any prior registration and providing proof of the cancellation prevents them from lawfully registering in Pennsylvania,” the ACLU said.
The organization requested a list of all registration applications rejected since June 1 and the reasons why.
Monday, Oct. 21, was the election registration deadline. The Elections Office must process any registrations held up due to concerns about out-of-state registration, and should give any voters turned away for that reason an opportunity to register before the deadline expires, the ACLU said.
The commissioners’ full statement is below:
“Any eligible voter in Lancaster County is allowed to submit a voter registration application, however their registration cannot be completed until it meets the requirements of state law. The Lancaster County Board of Elections is registering students so long as they meet the requirements in the Pennsylvania Election Code, Voter Registration and subsequent case law.
“All of the F&M students’ voter registration applications were accepted as they have been in the past and checked against the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which is standard procedure when registering any new voters. Any voter’s application whose residency still requires additional clarification will be put into a pending status, per Pennsylvania Election Code. The voter is then provided with a letter from the Lancaster County Board of Elections with information on how they can confirm their residency to complete their voter registration application. Voters who receive this letter will have until Election Day to provide the requested information for their voter registration application to be completed.
“The specific voter in question informed the Lancaster County Board of Elections that they were registered in both the State of Connecticut and in Pennsylvania for at least two years. They were now attempting to obtain a mail-in ballot in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The voter informed Lancaster County Board of Elections staff that they were provided with inaccurate information from F&M that they were able to maintain registration in two states. Staff informed the voter of Pennsylvania Election Code requirements and that per Pennsylvania Department of State guidelines, he should inform Connecticut of his current residency in Pennsylvania thereby canceling his previous registration. As of Monday, October 21st, the voter has informed the State of Connecticut of his registration in Pennsylvania. The State of Connecticut and the voter have communicated that to Lancaster County Board of Elections.“
