Pennsylvania Election reform update

On May 12th 2005, the Election reform Task force consisted of 13 members.,created On December 13, 2004, by Executive Order 2004-11, you created the Task Force

Filed it's report to Governor Rendell



Ballot access and Election date
Recommendations
1. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to set the dates of the primary elections in 2008 and 2012 (presidential elections) as the first Tuesday in March (sunset on November 30, 2014).
2. The specifics of refining the ballot access procedures should be left to the General Assembly.


Recommendations
Absentee ballot
1. The Pennsylvania Constitution, if necessary, and the Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to eliminate all reasons or conditions necessary to qualify for an absentee ballot and permit any qualified elector to vote by absentee ballot without excuse (“no-excuse absentee ballots”).

2. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to allow qualified electors to apply for an absentee ballot at any time prior to a primary election or general election, including on the date of a primary election or general election at a time no later to allow for the return of the ballot by the close of the polls, but no sooner than the date of the immediately preceding the primary election or general election.

3. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to allow submission of an application for an absentee ballot by facsimile or computerized electronic transmission provided it contains all required information and a facsimile of the elector’s signature or the signature of an adult member of the elector’s immediate family.

4. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to require county boards of elections to print absentee ballots immediately upon certification of the official ballot and begin to deliver or mail absentee ballots to qualified electors immediately upon receipt of absentee ballots from the printer but no later than one week following receipt of the certification.

5. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to allow absentee ballots to be returned to the county boards of elections by personal hand delivery by the elector, United States mail, an individual representative of an elector specifically authorized to deliver the elector’s absentee ballot pursuant to a statutory declaration, or a commercial delivery or courier service that accepts and delivers as an intermediary between third parties in the ordinary course of its business throughout the year documents and packages deliverable to a specific street address.

6. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to provide that all absentee ballots
containing a postmark no later than the day before Election Day (must be received no later than seven days after Election Day) or hand-delivered by the close of polls on Election Day shall be canvassed before the completion of the official count of all votes cast.

7. The Pennsylvania Constitution, if necessary, and the Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to require all absentee ballots to be retained, canvassed, and counted at the county boards of elections with procedures to ensure that no elector votes more than once.

8. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to require county boards of elections to make publicly available at the office of the county board of elections and upon request on Election Day and as soon as practicable following the receipt of absentee ballots a list of electors, arranged by election district, who voted by absentee ballot. The county board of election should continue to send precinct lists to the polling places.

9. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to require district election officials to make a list of absentee electors available for inspection only upon written request.

10. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to authorize the Secretary of the Commonwealth to require county boards of elections to report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth information concerning domestic civilian, overseas civilian, and military absentee ballots, including specifically but not limited to the number of absentee ballot applications received, the number of electors listed on the permanent absentee ballot qualification list, the number of absentee ballots distributed or mailed, and the number of absentee ballots returned by electors.

11. All changes to the absentee voting process and procedures shall be made in a manner that maintains the integrity, security, and secrecy of the process.


(I'm skipping the sections on overseas and Miltary)

Recommendations
What is a ballot and what is a Vote

1. The General Assembly should maintain the use of provisional ballots as currently utilized.

2. The Commonwealth/Department of State should re-visit the format of the provisional ballot envelope (based on its original purpose).

4. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to require that the county boards of elections include Voter Registration Mail Applications with election materials distributed to district election officials to provide for use by individuals casting provisional ballots to apply to register to vote for the next succeeding election.

6. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to allow the use of “curbside voting.”

7. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to incorporate federal law regarding alternative language accessibility.

8. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to adopt the Voting Standards Development Board report, “What Constitutes a Vote.”

9. The General Assembly should conduct hearings related to voter verifiable paper ballots and voter verifiable paper audit trails.

10. The Pennsylvania Election Code should be amended to include the purpose, scope, and process for alternative ballots in compliance with federal standards and current Pennsylvania procedure


http://www.dos.state.pa.us/election_reform/lib/election_reform/PERTF_Final_Report_051705_Website.pdf