2021–2022 Regular Session

House Bill 1300

An Act amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, as follows: in preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions, providing for legislative authority over elections, establishing the Bureau of Election Audits and providing for special standing in challenges to the Election Code; in the Secretary of the Commonwealth, further providing for powers and duties of the Secretary of the Commonwealth and providing for reports on implementation of elections; in county boards of elections, further providing for powers and duties of county boards and providing for county boards of elections and satellite offices; in district election officers, further providing for qualifications of election officers, for compensation of district election officers and for appointment of watchers; providing for registration of electors; in ballots, further providing for form of official election ballot and for number of ballots to be printed and specimen ballots; in voting machines, further providing for examination and approval of voting machines by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, for requirements of voting machines, for preparation of voting machines by county election boards and for delivery of voting machines and supplies by county election boards to election officers; in electronic voting systems, further providing for experimental use of electronic voting systems and for statistical sample and providing for requirements of accessible voting machines; in voting apparatus bonds, providing for voting system defects, disclosure, investigations and penalties; in preparation for and conduct of primaries and elections, providing for voter's bill of rights, for senior voter's bill of rights, for disabled voter's bill of rights and further providing for time for opening and closing polls, for manner of applying to vote, persons entitled to vote, voter's certificates, entries to be made in district register, numbered lists of voters and challenges and for deadline for receipt of valid voter registration application; in voting by qualified absentee electors, further providing for applications for official absentee ballots, for date of application for absentee ballot, for delivering or mailing ballots, for voting by absentee electors, providing for supervised voting by qualified absentee electors in certain facilities and further providing for canvassing of official absentee ballots and mail-in ballots; in voting by qualified mail-in electors, further providing for applications for official mail-in ballots, for date of application for mail-in ballot, for delivering or mailing ballots and for voting by mail-in electors; in Pennsylvania Election Law Advisory Board, further providing for Pennsylvania Election Law Advisory Board; providing for early voting by qualified electors; in returns of primaries and elections, further providing for returns to be open to public inspection and exceptions and for computation of returns by county board, certification and issuance of certificates of election; in recounts and contest, providing for powers and duties of the Attorney General relating to elections; in penalties, further providing for disobeying lawful instructions, for perjury, for false affidavits of candidates, for refusal to permit inspection of papers, destruction or removal and Secretary of the Commonwealth, for refusal to permit inspection of papers, destruction or removal and county boards of elections, for insertion and alteration of entries in documents, removal and refusal to deliver, for refusal to permit overseers, watchers, attorneys or candidates to act, for driving away watchers, attorneys, candidates or overseers, for refusal to permit election officers, clerks and machine inspectors to act and driving away said persons, for refusal to administer oath and acting without being sworn, for violation of oath of office by election officers, for peace officers, failure to render assistance and hindering or delaying county board members and others, for nomination petitions and papers and offenses by signers, for false signatures and statements in nomination petitions and papers, for nomination petitions, certificates and papers, destruction, fraudulent filing and suppression, for offenses by printers of ballots, for unlawful possession of ballots and counterfeiting ballots, for forging and destroying ballots, for tampering with voting machines, for destroying, defacing or removing notices, et cetera, for police officers at polling places and for peace officer, failure to quell disturbances at polls, hindering or delaying election officers and others, for election officers permitting unregistered electors to vote, challenges and refusing to permit qualified electors to vote, for election officers refusing to permit elector to vote in proper party at primaries, for frauds by election officers, for prying into ballots, for interference with primaries and elections, frauds and conspiracy, for persons interfering in other districts, for assault and battery at polls, for unlawful assistance in voting, for election officers permitting unlawful assistance, for failure to keep and return record of assisted voters, for unlawful voting, for elector voting ballot of wrong party at primary, for repeat voting at elections, for removing ballots, for commissioners to take soldiers' votes, for fraudulent voting by soldiers, for bribery at elections, for receipts and disbursements of primary and election expenses by persons other than candidates and treasurers, for receipts of primary and election expenses by unauthorized persons, for contributions by corporations or unincorporated associations, for failure to file expense account, for prohibiting duress and intimidation of voters and interference with the free exercise of the elective franchise, for failure to perform duty, for hindering or delaying performance of duty, for violation of any provision of act, for violations of provisions relating to absentee and mail-in ballots and providing for unlawful collection of ballots and prohibiting duress and intimidation of elections officials; providing for reimbursements and withholding; and making a related repeal.