State Elections and Oversight – Deasy Corporation

A. Pennsylvania Department of State: Central Authority

Oversees statewide election administration, campaign finance, and lobbying disclosure.
Houses the Bureau of Elections, which issues guidance, certifies results, and monitors counties.
Maintains statewide voter registration (SURE system), ensuring uniform registration rules across 67 counties.
Enforces election security: data encryption, multi-factor authentication, continuous monitoring of the registration and voting system.

Created under Act 12 of 2020, this board reviews election law, proposes statutory/improvements, and studies new voting technologies.
Comprised of legislative leaders plus appointees representing disabilities, voting rights, and county election officials.

Pennsylvania’s election administration is decentralized: state sets guardrails, counties (like Allegheny) implement.
Counties maintain significant discretion on details not fully prescribed by law:
- Where to place drop boxes.
- Whether to allow voters to “cure” flawed mail ballots in certain ways.
- Specific policies for poll worker deployment, precinct boundaries, and early voting logistics.

All 67 counties begin pre-canvassing of received mail/absentee ballots at 7 a.m. on Election Day.
Counties must conduct two audits before certification:
1. A 2% statistical audit under state statute.
2. A risk-limiting audit (RLA) across the state.
Certification is time-sensitive: the state must finalize and certify presidential electors’ slate by a federal deadline (per ECRA) – December 11 in presidential years.
State may decertify or refuse third-party access to voting machines to preserve uniformity and security.

Pennsylvania legal term: “election officers” (includes judges of elections, clerks, inspectors).
Duties: check in voters, run machines, secure ballots, deliver returns.
Eligibility rules and impartiality required; counties vet and train workers.
Because counties vary in resources and protocols, performance depends heavily on local administration.

Challenges and recounts may be adjudicated in state courts.
The state’s election code (dating from 1937, with amendments) forms the statutory backbone of all procedures.
The state’s Attorney General enforces election law violations, voter protection cases, and fraud claims.
Judicial intervention can override county practices when inconsistent with state law or constitutional standards (as seen in voting machine decertification cases).

Pennsylvania is replacing its outdated SURE registration system with a new Civix election management system (>$10M investment).
Election security threats, staffing shortages, and partisan pressure are ongoing challenges.
The Advisory Board (Act 12) continues proposing updates to resolve statutory ambiguity, especially around drop boxes, ballot curing, and technology standards.