For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 22, 2025
Contact: Genevieve Greene, ggreene@seventy.org, 617-785-6991
Philadelphia, PA – The Committee of Seventy’s statement on House Bill 1396 is as follows:
“In early May 2025, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 1396, an omnibus election code modernization bill, and sent it to the Pennsylvania Senate for consideration. On May 22, the State Senate referred the bill to its State Government Committee.
House Bill 1396 represents a critical step forward in addressing many of the election code changes that the Committee of Seventy, other advocates, election administrators and voters have long called for. This bill will not only resolve many of the issues that have arisen as a result of 2019’s Act 77 – the historic update to the Election Code that allowed vote by mail, but has since led to some challenges and a lack of uniformity in interpreting the code – it will also greatly expand voting access through true in-person early voting. We are especially pleased to see that the bill will standardize the use of ballot drop boxes and ballot curing, reform our recount process, and strengthen election security through the use of risk limiting audits. These reforms will make our elections more secure and equitable across the Commonwealth.
While we applaud this bill, and are grateful for Speaker McClinton’s leadership, we have encouraged members of the General Assembly to move all provisions of the bill to a January 1, 2027 effective date from its current January 2, 2026. This date will ensure that election administrators have the time to effectively implement these changes. While January 2026 might seem far off, in reality, election officials are still completing their work following the 2025 primary election and will soon focus solely on preparations for the 2025 general election, leaving little time for implementing major structural changes before January 1, 2026.
We are hopeful that the Senate considers this important legislation soon and encourage all members of the General Assembly to meet with their local election administrators as they consider House Bill 1396. We encourage all Pennsylvanians to contact their State Senator and let them know how important this legislation is to modernizing our elections.”