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<\/a>HARRISBURG, Pa. \u2014<\/p>\nPennsylvania\u2019s top election official is urging voters to trust the state\u2019s voting system as counties prepare for the Nov. 3 midterm election, while emphasizing that allegations of fraud should be investigated carefully without preventing eligible voters from casting ballots.<\/p>\n
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said Pennsylvania\u2019s use of paper ballots, post-election audits and voter identification procedures helps ensure accurate results for ballots cast by mail and in person.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s very natural to have questions. Elections have changed so much in the past several years, but they\u2019ve changed for the better in Pennsylvania,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cEvery voter votes by a paper ballot. There\u2019s a paper record of every vote that\u2019s cast, and that\u2019s used in audits after every election.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania does not generally require voters to present identification each time they vote at a polling place. Voters must provide identification the first time they vote in a precinct, and applicants for mail-in or absentee ballots generally must submit proof of identification each time they request one.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time you vote, whether by mail or at a polling place, you are providing identification,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cIt\u2019s just that if you vote at that same polling place in the elections after that, you no longer have to provide ID again.\u201d<\/p>\n
His comments come after federal prosecutors announced charges against nine Pennsylvania residents accused of voting illegally despite not being U.S. citizens. The alleged voting occurred in previous federal elections, including the 2022 and 2024 general elections. The charges are allegations, and the defendants have not been convicted.<\/p>\n
Schmidt said any illegal ballot is a serious matter but maintained that such cases are rare. He warned against adopting policies that could prevent eligible voters from participating in an effort to stop isolated violations.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want a single vote to be counted that shouldn\u2019t be counted,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cAnd you don\u2019t want a single person who\u2019s eligible to be prevented from voting as a result of an election integrity system that is done in a way that disenfranchises eligible voters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such cases require \u201cconstant vigilance\u201d and thorough investigations to determine whether allegations are accurate, he said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether concerns about voter fraud are justified or overblown, Schmidt said election officials should take a measured, evidence-based approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not really a question of overblown or not,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a question of being rational, thoughtful and methodical in identifying these sorts of cases and not listening every time someone cries wolf, because that happens far too often.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schmidt said unsupported accusations can themselves damage public confidence in elections. People who believe wrongdoing occurred can present evidence in court, he said, where claims can be evaluated under established legal standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t think of anything that undermines election integrity like people constantly saying there\u2019s fraud here and fraud there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Federal election monitors expected <\/p>\n
The U.S. Justice Department has also notified Pennsylvania that federal election monitors are expected in Allegheny, Lehigh, Luzerne and Philadelphia counties on Election Day. Schmidt said state officials are reviewing what access the monitors may legally have while voting is underway and plan to coordinate with affected counties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really comes down to what level of access they can have, or what level of access they\u2019re permitted to have, on Election Day while voting is taking place,\u201d Schmidt said.<\/p>\n
The Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division routinely monitors elections in selected jurisdictions to assess compliance with federal voting-rights laws. The planned deployment comes under President Donald Trump\u2019s administration amid heightened scrutiny of Pennsylvania\u2019s election procedures.<\/p>\n
Schmidt said preparations for Election Day are a year-round effort. County election workers are readying poll books, processing voter registration applications and preparing mail-ballot materials.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something where people are working two days a year,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re working all year long to make sure those days are successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
State officials remain in regular contact with counties to ensure they have the staffing, equipment and other resources needed, Schmidt said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in contact with them throughout the year in the lead-up to Election Day to make sure that everyone is prepared and that everybody has what they need,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mail-in ballot deadlines approaching<\/p>\n
Registered Pennsylvania voters have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot. Completed ballots must be received by the voter\u2019s county election office by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. A postmark alone is not sufficient.<\/p>\n
Schmidt advised voters not to wait until the final days before the election to return their ballots through the U.S. Postal Service.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no hard-and-fast date by which you should no longer put it in the mail, but you have to be reasonable in allowing for some number of days for that ballot to be returned,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Voters returning ballots late in the week before Election Day should consider delivering them to their county election office or an authorized drop box, if their county provides one, Schmidt said. He specifically cautioned against mailing a ballot on the Saturday or Monday immediately before Election Day.<\/p>\n
In most circumstances, Pennsylvania voters must return their own ballots. Limited exceptions exist for voters with disabilities who formally designate someone to deliver a ballot and for certain emergency situations.<\/p>\n
Schmidt also addressed two completed ballots that were mistakenly returned as undeliverable by the Postal Service.<\/p>\n
\u201cA couple is the right way to describe it, because it was, in fact, two ballots that we\u2019re aware of that were returned as undeliverable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The state contacted the Postal Service, which initially attributed the problem to human error in processing the envelopes, Schmidt said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have no reason to think it\u2019s in any way systematic,\u201d he said, adding that voters should remain confident in using the mail if they allow enough delivery time.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania voters can also apply for and complete a mail ballot in one visit at their county election office through the Oct. 27 application deadline. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"News 8 spoke with Pennsylvania’s top elections official ahead of the midterm elections. HARRISBURG, Pa. \u2014 Pennsylvania\u2019s top…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":314950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[10077,30813,894,5497,2955,69811,128477,26506,433,803,70960,14287,121684,128474,28,30,29,1212,128475,87135,128476,16106],"class_list":["post-314949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-absentee-ballot","tag-al-schmidt","tag-allegheny-county","tag-election-day","tag-election-fraud","tag-election-security","tag-federal-election-monitors","tag-justice-department","tag-lehigh-county","tag-luzerne-county","tag-mail-in-ballot","tag-midterm-election","tag-nov-3","tag-paper-ballots","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-philadelphia-county","tag-post-election-audits","tag-secretary-of-the-commonwealth","tag-voter-identification","tag-voting-system"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}