Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

Pennsylvania House Bill HB284 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version

                             
PRINTER'S NO. 229 
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL 
No.284 
Session of 
2025 
INTRODUCED BY MALONEY, M. BROWN, HAMM, KAUFFMAN, KUZMA AND 
ZIMMERMAN, JANUARY 23, 2025 
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 23, 2025 
AN ACT
Providing for secure and fair elections and the authentication 
of United States citizenship.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1.  Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Secure and 
Fair Elections Act.
Section 2.  Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Applicant."  A resident of this Commonwealth seeking to 
register to vote in Federal, State and local elections under 
this act.
"Application."  As follows:
(1)  The form approved by the secretary to register an 
applicant to vote under this act.
(2)  The National Mail Voter Registration Form issued as 
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18 provided under Federal law shall be accepted as an 
application.
"Board."  The State Election Board established under section 
4(a).
"Department."  The Department of State of the Commonwealth.
"Division of Vital Records."  The Division of Vital Records 
of the Department of Health of the Commonwealth.
"Evidence of United States citizenship."  One of the 
following or a legible photocopy of one of the following 
documents:
(1)  The applicant's driver's license or nondriver's 
identification card issued by the Commonwealth or an 
equivalent governmental agency of another state if the agency 
indicates on the applicant's driver's license or nondriver's 
identification card that the individual has provided 
satisfactory proof of United States citizenship.
(2)  The applicant's birth certificate that verifies 
United States citizenship to the satisfaction of the county 
board of elections or the secretary.
(3)  Pertinent pages of the applicant's United States 
valid or expired passport identifying the applicant and the 
applicant's passport number, or presentation to the county 
board of elections of the applicant's United States passport.
(4)  The applicant's United States naturalization 
documents or the number of the applicant's certificate of 
naturalization. If only the number of the certificate of 
naturalization is provided, the applicant's name shall not be 
included on the registration roll until the number of the 
certificate of naturalization is verified with the United 
States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services by the 
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30 county board of elections or the secretary, under 8 U.S.C. § 
1373(c) (relating to communication between government 
agencies and the Immigration and Naturalization Service).
(5)  Other documents or methods of proof of United States 
citizenship issued by the Federal Government under the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (66 Stat. 163, 8 U.S.C. § 
1101 et seq.).
(6)  The applicant's Bureau of Indian Affairs card 
number, tribal treaty card number or tribal enrollment 
number.
(7)  The applicant's consular report of birth abroad of a 
citizen of the United States of America.
(8)  The applicant's certificate of citizenship issued by 
the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
(9)  The applicant's certification of report of birth 
issued by the United States Department of State.
(10)  The applicant's American Indian card, with KIC 
classification, issued by the United States Department of 
Homeland Security.
(11)  The applicant's final adoption decree showing the 
applicant's name and United States birthplace.
(12)  The applicant's official United States military 
record of service showing the applicant's place of birth in 
the United States.
(13)  An extract from a United States hospital record of 
birth created at the time of the applicant's birth indicating 
the applicant's place of birth in the United States.
(14)  Any other information or documentation related to 
an applicant's United States citizenship if the board 
assesses the information or documentation as satisfactory.
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30 "Secretary."  The Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Section 3.  Registration.
(a)  Applications generally.--Applications, promulgated by 
the secretary, shall give voter eligibility requirements and 
necessary information to prevent duplicative voter registrations 
and enable the relevant election officer to assess the 
eligibility of the applicant, administer voter registration, 
identify the applicant and determine the qualifications of the 
applicant as an elector and the facts authorizing the individual 
to be registered. Applications shall contain a statement that 
the applicant shall be required to provide qualifying 
identification when voting.
(b)  Process to assess eligibility.--
(1)  The secretary shall create a process for each county 
board of elections to indicate whether an applicant has 
provided with the application the information necessary to 
assess the eligibility of the applicant, including the 
applicant's United States citizenship.
(2)  This section shall be interpreted and applied in 
accordance with Federal law.
(3)  An eligible applicant whose qualifications have been 
assessed and deemed sufficient shall not be denied 
registration.
(c)  Acceptance of applications and evidence of 
citizenship.--
(1)  The county board of elections or the department 
shall accept a completed application for registration, but an 
applicant's registration shall not be deemed to be completed 
until the applicant has provided, or the county board of 
elections or the department has otherwise obtained, 
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30 satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship.
(2)  Satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship 
shall be provided:
(i)  in person at the time of filing the application 
for registration;
(ii)  by including with a mailed registration 
application a photocopy of one of the documents listed as 
evidence of United States citizenship; or
(iii)  by electronically transmitting via email or 
text message an image of one of the documents listed as 
evidence of United States citizenship.
(3)  After an individual has submitted satisfactory 
evidence of United States citizenship, the county board of 
elections shall indicate this information in the individual's 
permanent voter file.
(d)  Provisional status.--
(1)  If an applicant submits a completed application for 
registration but does not provide satisfactory evidence of 
United States citizenship, the applicant's registration shall 
be deemed provisional until satisfactory evidence of United 
States citizenship is obtained.
(2)  The county board of elections shall:
(i)  indicate the information under paragraph (1) in 
the individual's permanent voter file; and
(ii)  mail to the applicant a notice informing the 
applicant that:
(A)  the registration is provisional and is not 
yet completed; and
(B)  evidence of citizenship must be received by 
the secretary or county board of elections within 90 
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30 days of the date that the application for 
registration was received.
(3)  If no evidence of citizenship is received by the 
date under paragraph (2)(ii)(B):
(i)  the application shall be deleted from the 
individual's permanent voter file; and
(ii)  the applicant shall be notified of the deletion 
by the county board of elections.
(4)  The deletion of the application under paragraph (3)
(i) shall not prevent the applicant from filing a new 
application at any time to begin the registration process 
again.
(e)  Obtaining evidence of citizenship.--
(1)  The secretary or the county board of elections 
shall, in a manner designated by the secretary, attempt to 
obtain evidence of United States citizenship on behalf of all 
applicants whose registration is provisional, thereby 
completing the applications, by performing the following:
(i)  Determining if the Department of Motor Vehicles 
has already obtained evidence of United States 
citizenship from the applicant.
(ii)  Determining if the Division of Vital Records 
possesses a birth record indicating that the applicant 
was born in this Commonwealth.
(iii)  Obtaining an official record of United States 
citizenship from another state or from the Federal 
Government.
(2)  If the secretary or the county board of elections is 
able to successfully obtain evidence of United States 
citizenship on behalf of the applicant within the 90-day 
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30 period described in subsection (d), the secretary or the 
county board of elections shall inform the applicant, deem 
the application to be completed and indicate this information 
in the applicant's permanent voter file.
(f)  Prior registration.--An individual who is registered to 
vote in this Commonwealth on the effective date of this 
subsection is deemed to have provided satisfactory evidence of 
United States citizenship and shall not be required to submit 
evidence of United States citizenship.
(g)  Registration from another state.--For the purposes of 
this section, proof of voter registration from another state is 
not satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship.
(h)  Relocation and modification of records.--A registered 
voter who moves from one residence to another within this 
Commonwealth or who modifies the voter's registration records 
for any other reason shall not be required to submit evidence of 
United States citizenship.
(i)  Affidavits.--
(1)  If evidence of United States citizenship is deemed 
to be unsatisfactory due to an inconsistency between the 
document submitted as evidence and the name or sex provided 
on the application for registration, the applicant may sign 
an affidavit:
(i)  stating any inconsistency related to the name or 
sex and the reason for the inconsistency; and
(ii)  swearing under oath that, despite the 
inconsistency, the applicant is the individual reflected 
in the document provided as evidence of United States 
citizenship.
(2)  There may not be an inconsistency between the date 
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30 of birth on the document provided as evidence of United 
States citizenship and the date of birth provided on the 
application for registration.
(3)  If an affidavit of identification is submitted by 
the applicant, the secretary or county board of elections 
shall assess the eligibility of the applicant without regard 
to any inconsistency stated in the affidavit.
(j)  Confidentiality.--All documents submitted as evidence of 
United States citizenship shall be kept confidential by the 
secretary or county board of elections and maintained as 
provided by record retention laws.
(k)  Other methods of obtaining evidence of citizenship.--
Nothing in this section shall prohibit an applicant from 
providing, or the secretary or county board of elections from 
obtaining, one of the forms of evidence of United States 
citizenship, at a different time or in a different manner than 
an application for registration is provided, as long as the 
applicant's eligibility can be adequately assessed by the 
secretary or county board of elections as required by this 
section and within the 90-day period described in subsection 
(d).
Section 4.  State Election Board.
(a)  Establishment.--The State Election Board is established 
within the department.
(b)  Composition.--The b oard shall consist of the Lieutenant 
Governor, the Attorney General and the secretary.
(c)  Meetings and assessments.--
(1)  The board shall meet at the call of the secretary 
and shall assess information or documentation provided by any 
applicant for voter registration as evidence of United States 
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30 citizenship under the voter registration requirements of this 
act.
(2)  Meetings of the board may occur remotely, virtually 
or by telephone, at the discretion of the secretary.
Section 5.  Procedures.
(a)  Authorization regarding other evidence to demonstrate 
citizenship.--If an applicant is a United States citizen but 
cannot provide satisfactory evidence of United States 
citizenship, the applicant may submit other evidence, including 
any information, affidavits or documentation, that the applicant 
believes demonstrates the applicant's United States citizenship. 
(b)  Submittal of evidence.--
(1)  An applicant seeking an assessment of evidence under 
this section may directly contact the department by 
submitting a voter registration application or the National 
Mail Voter Registration Form and any supporting information 
or evidence of United States citizenship.
(2)  Upon receipt of the information or documentation 
under paragraph (1), the secretary shall notify the 
appropriate county board of elections that the application is 
pending.
(c)  Hearing.--
(1)  The county board of elections shall give the 
applicant an opportunity for a hearing, upon the applicant's 
request in writing, and an opportunity to present any 
additional evidence to the county board of elections.
(2)  Notice of the hearing shall be given to the 
applicant at least five days prior to the hearing date.
(3)  An applicant shall have the opportunity to be 
represented by counsel at the hearing.
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30 (d)  Assessment and determination.--
(1)  The county board of elections shall assess the 
information or documentation provided by the applicant to 
determine whether the applicant has provided satisfactory 
evidence of United States citizenship.
(2)  A decision of the county board of elections shall be 
determined by a majority vote of the county board of 
elections.
(3)  If an applicant submits an application and any 
supporting information or documentation prior to the close of 
registration for an election cycle, a determination by the 
county board of elections shall be issued at least five days 
before the election date.
(4)  If the county board of elections finds that the 
information or documentation presented by an applicant 
constitutes satisfactory evidence of United States 
citizenship, the applicant shall meet the requirements under 
this act to provide satisfactory evidence of United States 
citizenship.
(5)  If the county board of elections finds that the 
information or documentation presented by an applicant does 
not constitute satisfactory evidence of United States 
citizenship, the applicant shall have the right to appeal the 
determination by the county board of elections by instituting 
an action under 8 U.S.C. § 1503 (relating to denial of rights 
and privileges as national). A negative assessment of an 
applicant's eligibility by the county board of elections 
shall be reversed if the applicant obtains a declaratory 
judgment under 8 U.S.C. § 1503 demonstrating that the 
applicant is a national of the United States.
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30 Section 6.  Birth certificates and identification cards.
(a)  Birth certificates.--
(1)  The Division of Vital Records may not charge or 
accept any fee for a certified copy of a birth certificate if 
the certificate is requested by an individual who is 17 years 
of age or older for purposes of meeting the voter 
registration requirements of this act.
(2)  To obtain the certificate under paragraph (1), the 
individual must swear under oath in an affidavit that the 
individual:
(i)  plans to register to vote in this Commonwealth; 
and
(ii)  does not possess any of the documents that 
constitute evidence of United States citizenship.
(3)  The affidavit under this subsection shall 
specifically list the documents that constitute evidence of 
United States citizenship as defined in this act.
(b)  Identification cards.--
(1)  The Division of Vital Records may not charge or 
accept any fee for a certified copy of a birth certificate if 
the certificate is requested by an individual who is 17 years 
of age or older for the purpose of obtaining a fee-waived 
nondriver identification card in order to meet the voting 
requirements under this act.
(2)  To obtain the certificate under paragraph (1), the 
individual shall swear under oath that the individual:
(i)  is registered to vote in this Commonwealth; and
(ii)  has executed the affidavit under subsection 
(a).
(c)  Transmittal fee.--The board of commissioners of each 
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30 county in this Commonwealth shall designate a county office or 
department to provide assistance at no charge to an individual 
applying for a birth certificate from the Division of Vital 
Records for the purpose of registering to vote. The designated 
county office or department shall transmit the necessary forms 
to the Division of Vital Records at no cost to the individual 
applying for the birth certificate.
(d)  Regulations.--The Department of Health shall adopt or 
promulgate rules or regulations in order to implement the 
provisions of this section.
Section 7.  Rules and regulations.
The department shall adopt or promulgate rules or regulations 
necessary to implement and administer this act.
Section 8.  Severability.
The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of 
this act or its application to any person or circumstance is 
held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions 
or applications of this act which can be given effect without 
the invalid provision or application.
Section 9.  Effective date.
This act shall take effect immediately.
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