Upcoming Senate hearing will examine recently passed election reforms

HARRISBURG – At the request of Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill (R–York), the Senate Majority Policy Committee will discuss the implementation of a series of landmark election reforms the General Assembly approved in 2019.   

“York County had major challenges this past General Election and with major bipartisan changes to our state’s Election Law, it is important to bring together all stakeholders – state, county and local officials – into the same room and learn how these changes are being implemented ahead of the 2020 Presidential Election,” Phillips-Hill said. “We know turnout will be very high across the state. We need to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page so that the integrity of our elections is upheld and voters can feel confident when casting their vote this year.”

Act 77 was signed into law on October 31, 2019 after receiving bipartisan support from both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In addition to providing more options for absentee balloting and extending registration deadlines, the law also provided $90 million in new funding to help counties pay for new voting machines which are now required to leave a paper trail. Act 77 has been called one of the most significant election reforms in Pennsylvania since the 1930s.

“We were able to pass these measures on a bipartisan vote last year and they helped move our elections into the 21st century,” said committee chair Senator David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks). “We’re going to see major turnout in the upcoming 2020 election because it’s a presidential election year and we need to ensure that the election modernization measures we passed last year have a positive impact in helping our counties prepare for that event.”

The Senate Majority Policy Committee will conduct the hearing on Monday, January 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Room 8E-B of the East Wing in the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg.

More information can be found on the committee’s website at http://policy.pasenategop.com

Contact: Joshua J. Paul

717.787.2637

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