House Committee Begins Hearings on Election Integrity

January 25, 2021

HARRISBURG -The House State Government Committee held the first of 14 planned public hearings on election integrity last week at the state Capitol. The intent of the hearings is not to relitigate the 2020 election, but to enable the committee to take a closer look at election laws, processes and procedures to determine if legislative action is necessary.

Pennsylvania’s top election officials, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar and Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions Jonathan Marks, provided testimony and answered the committee’s questions. Boockvar even suggested some legislative action to improve the state’s election processes.

Referencing the 2020 general election, Rep. Craig Staats (R-Bucks), a member of the committee, asked Boockvar questions about the guidance she offered county election offices and the handling of absentee ballots. To see that testimony, visit bit.ly/3o3SMdm

The House State Government Committee will conduct another public hearing in this series on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 1:30 p.m. It will examine the SURE System, election management systems and related information technology. Joe Kantz, chairman, Snyder County Commissioners and Snyder County Board of Elections; Timothy Benyo, chief clerk, Lehigh County Election Board; and Michael Anderson, director of Elections, Lebanon County Bureau of Elections/Voter Registration, are scheduled to testify. Dates and topics for the remaining hearings are tentatively scheduled as follows and all will be carried live at PAHouseGOP.com.

• Feb. 4: Review of Election Audits: Office of the Auditor General, 2% Audits, and Risk-Limiting Audits.
• Feb. 11: Voter registration.
• Feb. 18: Certification of voting machines.
• Feb. 25: Operation of voting machines with demonstrations.
• March 4: Mail-in and absentee ballots.
• March 11: Contracted vendors.
• March 18: County election day operations.
• March 25: Election integrity policies.
• April 1: Overview of how other states conduct elections.
• April 8: Stakeholders.
• April 15: Proposed election legislation and member testimony.
• April 22: Any further election matters.

Representative Craig Staats
145th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Donna Pinkham
717.260.6452
dpinkham@pahousegop.com
RepStaats.net / Facebook.com/RepStaats