State Sen. Lisa Boscola wants to make sure there are plenty of election ballot drop boxes, provide money for counties to operate them, and make it legal for family members to drop off voters’ ballots.
The ideas are part of a seven-bill election reform package that Boscola, a Northampton County Democrat, says she will introduce in Harrisburg.
Dozens of election-related concepts already have been pitched by lawmakers in the form of memos since the Dec. 1 technical start of the new legislative session. They range from Democratic Sen. Wayne Fontana’s proposal for an all-mail voting system to Republican Rep. Russ Diamond’s proposal for a return to having nearly everyone vote in-person.
But Boscola’s ideas may have a better-than-average chance at gaining traction.
She has a history of crossing the aisle to vote with Republicans, and it was her bill that eventually became Act 77 of 2019, the sweeping election reform that started widespread mail balloting.
Specifically, her proposals would:
Set a minimum number of drop boxes that counties must provide, create a grant program to give counties money to operate a suitable number of drop boxes, and permit an immediate family member, member of the same household or caregiver to put a ballot in a drop box.
Allow voters to fix mail-in ballot discrepancies, including problems with their signature, and provide election officials with FBI training to enhance their ability to verify signatures.
Eliminate the need for a secrecy envelope for a mail ballot.
Change the term “permanent” in state law when used to refer to mailing lists for absentee and mail-in ballots to “annual.”
Drop boxes set off controversy in Lehigh County last year, when District Attorney Jim Martin reported at least 288 voters illegally dropped more than one ballot into a box in the November 2021 election. In the runup to the November 2022 election, the state made specific efforts to teach voters they cannot drop off someone else’s ballot unless they have a “designated agent form.”
That form is used, for example, in a situation where a person’s disability prevents a trip to the drop box or election office.
Requests for reactions to Boscola’s ideas drew muted responses, in part because the Legislature is off to a slow start — the House is at a standstill because of political disagreements over rules — and new Gov. Josh Shapiro took office less than two weeks ago.
A Shapiro spokesperson declined comment on Boscola’s proposals.
Republican Sen. David Argall of Schuylkill County said Pennsylvania residents are concerned with how elections are conducted.
“With a new governor now in office, I hope we can develop measures to improve the integrity of our elections that Republicans, Democrats, and Independents can all agree to,” Argall said. “It’s way too early to determine if any of Sen. Boscola’s bills will meet that challenge.”
House Republicans’ spokesperson Jason Gottesman said he would not comment directly on Boscola’s ideas until she files bills.
Nicole Reigelman, a spokesperson for House Democrats, said they support “measures that make it easier and more convenient to vote.”
Reigelman added that Democrats believe drop boxes are an important tool to help more Pennsylvanians participate in elections, and “making it easier to use secure drop boxes should be among the reforms the Legislature considers in the 2023-24 legislative session.”
Boscola said her ideas came from her role on a bipartisan special committee that heard testimony on elections in other states, a just-released report on mail-in ballots, and “what I hear when I go out in public.”
Having a uniform system for drop boxes statewide is important, she said, and nearly a dozen other states already allow other people to drop off a voter’s mail ballot.
Boscola said she was not “married to these bills” and was willing to discuss changes to the package, which she said included ideas she hasn’t seen in other proposals “that need to happen.”
Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner can be reached at fturner@mcall.com
