Senate Bill 1018 requires regular audits of voter registration records & prohibits government entities from withholding data necessary to conduct those audits
(HARRISBURG) – As part of continuing efforts to increase the integrity of Pennsylvania’s election system, State Senator Ryan Aument (R-36) has introduced legislation that will help to reconcile any errors, duplicate files, or irregularities within Pennsylvania’s voter registration records.
“While the mainstream media would have us believe that every attempt to improve election integrity is part of an effort to cast doubt on the 2020 General Election outcome, this could not be further from the truth,” said Aument. “There are legitimate issues and irregularities within Pennsylvania’s election system that must be fixed so we can be confident in any election results produced by that system. Despite opponents claims that nothing is wrong with our elections, independent third-party audits have shown this is false, and I would be doing a disservice to my constituents if I did not act to correct these problems.”
Senate Bill 1018 will incorporate into statute the recommendations made by Auditor General Eugene DePasquale in his 2019 audit report of the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE). SURE is the program the Department of State uses to maintain a complete list of all registered voters in the Commonwealth.
In 2019, the Auditor General released his report which detailed 50 recommendations to the Department of State related to security protocols, information technology general controls, and interface controls to “improve the security of Pennsylvania’s voter registration system and the completeness, accuracy, and auditability” of the voter registration records.
Though the audit was requested by the Department of State, the department refused to provide necessary information to the Auditor General in order to adequately perform the audit. For this reason, Aument’s bill will prohibit the Department of State, PennDOT, and counties from withholding information necessary to conduct a full and comprehensive audit, and it will require an audit of the SURE system be conducted by the Auditor General every four years.
“It is entirely unacceptable for a government agency to withhold information needed to conduct an independent, impartial review of our elections,” said Aument. “Ensuring transparency and accountability from the agency responsible for administering our elections will help Pennsylvanians regain trust in results and in the process.”
Senate Bill 1018 has been referred to the Senate State Government Committee for consideration.
Senator Ryan Aument (R-36) at a committee meeting in October 2021.
CONTACT: Stephanie Applegate (717) 787-4420