Capitol Beat

GOP effort to expand poll watcher access advances in state House

Legislation from state Sen. Doug Mastriano would allow poll watchers to travel to any precinct in the state.

Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano speaks during a campaign rally at The Fuge on May 14, 2022 in Warminster, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano speaks during a campaign rally at The Fuge on May 14, 2022 in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images

A measure that would expand the access that partisan poll watchers have at election precincts was approved by a state House panel on Wednesday, with backers saying the measure would foster more trust in the state’s elections and improve transparency. 

The proposal, sponsored by state Sen. Doug Mastriano, the state’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, would allow candidates to place up to three poll watchers in a particular precinct, and remove a restriction that requires poll watchers to stay in the counties they live in. 

Under the legislation, poll watchers would be given free rein to observe elections in all parts of the state, regardless of where they reside. Supporters of the legislation say the measure would help make elections more transparent, improving public trust. 

Members of the House State Government Committee voted 14-10 to approve the measure, Senate Bill 573. State Rep. Seth Grove, the chair of the committee, said poll watchers serve as “checks and balances” on the state’s election system. “Giving candidates more access, whether in the primary or the general election, is a good thing,” Grove said. “Again, poll watchers are the checks and balances within an election system.”

All 10 Democrats on the committee voted against the bill, fearing that it could perpetuate voter intimidation in counties across the state since poll watchers would have the ability to observe elections in any county. “What is really happening around bills like this is we’re intimidating enough poll workers that they’re not going to be there,” said state Rep. Scott Conklin, the committee’s ranking Democrat. “I think this is an atrocity of the bill, because I think that the democracy of the United States of America is more trustworthy than this leads on.”

Grove, however, noted that the bill increases penalties for poll watchers who violate state election law, which he said would discourage poll watchers from intimidating poll workers. 

According to the bill text, penalties for voter intimidation would also be increased from a second-degree misdemeanor to a first-degree misdemeanor, with fines of up to $10,000 if a person is convicted. Those convicted could also face up to three years of imprisonment, according to the bill. The bill would also step up penalties for those that impede poll workers from administering elections – which is punishable by a $2,500 fine and up to two years of jail time. 

But while Democrats alleged that the bill would lead to intimidation, Republicans on the House State Government Committee underscored their belief that providing more flexibility to poll watchers will help reinstill confidence in the state’s elections. 

“There’s a great deal of suspicion and cynicism with regard to our election system. Some of that is well-placed, some of it I believe is misplaced. But either way, the greatest antidote to that is clarity and daylight,” said state Rep. Paul Schemel, a Franklin County Republican who voted for the bill.

The committee also approved legislation Wednesday that would move up the date of Pennsylvania’s presidential primary to the third Tuesday of March. The bill received support from all of the panel’s Republicans, as well as two Democrats. That bill, Senate Bill 428, is designed to give Pennsylvania a larger role in selecting the presidential nominees of both political parties moving forward, with Grove noting that its current April date ensures that “Pennsylvania’s primary really doesn’t matter in the scheme of national politics.” Both bills now await a vote by the full state House of Representatives.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.