Signed by Governor Tom Wolf

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with house amendments and pass a bill that establishes mail-in voting and eliminates the straight-ticket voting option.

Highlights:

• Appropriates $4 million in funds from the Department of State to ensure maximum commonwealth turnout for the 2020 census outreach (Sec. 2).

• Appropriates $90 million in funds from the Department of State to ensure the replacement of county voting apparatuses and machines in order to improve election security over the next 10 years (Sec. 3.1).

• Authorizes eligible voters in this state to request an absentee or mail-in ballot without having to provide a reason for the request, and specifies that their ballots may be submitted up until 8:00 P.M. on election day (Sec. 3.2).

• Extends the registration period that an eligible individual has to vote to 15 days prior to the election date (Sec. 3.2).

• Prohibits stickers or labels from being used in districts where paper ballots are electronically tabulated (Sec. 3.2).

• Prohibits an individual from making a single mark on a ballot indicating their intention to vote for all candidates in a single political party during a primary election, commonly known as “straight-ticket voting,” and requires they mark each candidate they intend to vote for individually (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that eligible voters shall as a general rule have a 50-day period before a general election to send their mail-in ballots (Sec. 8).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass with amendment a bill that establishes mail-in voting and eliminates the straight-ticket voting option.

Highlights:

• Appropriates $4 million in funds from the Department of State to ensure maximum commonwealth turnout for the 2020 census outreach (Sec. 2).

• Appropriates $90 million in funds from the Department of State to ensure the replacement of county voting apparatuses and machines in order to improve election security over the next 10 years (Sec. 3.1).

• Authorizes eligible voters in this state to request an absentee or mail-in ballot without having to provide a reason for the request, and specifies that their ballots may be submitted up until 8:00 P.M. on election day (Sec. 3.2).

• Extends the registration period that an eligible individual has to vote to 15 days prior to the election date (Sec. 3.2).

• Prohibits stickers or labels from being used in districts where paper ballots are electronically tabulated (Sec. 3.2).

• Prohibits an individual from making a single mark on a ballot indicating their intention to vote for all candidates in a single political party during a primary election, commonly known as “straight-ticket voting,” and requires they mark each candidate they intend to vote for individually (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that eligible voters shall as a general rule have a 50-day period before a general election to send their mail-in ballots (Sec. 8).

Full Bill Text