Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro hailed his automatic voter registration (AVR) program as a “commonsense step” to streamline the voter registration process and save taxpayer dollars a year ago. Shapiro justified the program, citing the existing requirement for Pennsylvanians to prove identity, residency, age, and citizenship when obtaining a license at the DMV.
But following the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s unanimous 7-0 ruling criticizing the AVR program, 63 House Republicans are urging Shapiro to shut it down. They fretted it could cause “avoidable disinformation and misinformation” in the election process.
“The Supreme Court’s recent decision was clear: PennDOT cannot add a change of voter registration to interactions such as updating vehicle registration,” the representatives wrote in a letter to Shapiro last week.
National Republican figures criticized Shapiro after last fall’s AVR program announcement. Then-Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel suggested Shapiro was looking to get more television airtime versus keeping elections “secure and transparent.” Donald Trump called the AVR program a scam that would help Democrats cheat during elections.
Two dozen Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers filed a federal suit against the Shapiro administration in January. They argued Shapiro should have gone to the legislature for approval. A judge tossed the suit in March.
The AVR program came back under the judicial microscope after the April primary race between incumbent State Rep. Mike Cabell (R-Luzerne County) and opponent Jamie Walsh.
According to court documents, a Butler Township man cast a provisional ballot in the race because his name wasn’t on the voter roll despite previously voting in the township in previous elections.
It was later discovered PennDOT had changed the man’s voter registration address to a different town in December 2023. That was because the man updated the address on his vehicle registration but still lived in Butler Township.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices said the man’s vote should have counted in the race. They also criticized PennDOT and the Department of State for transferring the man’s voter registration “without that person’s affirmative consent.” They called the decision “of questionable validity.”
Justices David Wecht and P. Kevin Brobson used stronger language. Democrat Wecht and Republican Brobson called PennDOT’s move a “rogue transfer of voter registration” and called it “troubling” that the agency kept changing voter status without getting permission from the voter. “It appears [PennDOT has changed voter registration] in absence of any legislative directive,” they wrote.
That was enough for Grove, who said Shapiro has to move quickly to end the AVR program. He also called for PennDOT to contact every voter whose voting address may have been changed due to the department’s actions.
In their letter to Shapiro, lawmakers said there are only two remedies that will suffice in the wake of the court’s criticism.
“Given that we still have several weeks before the voter registration deadline, there are two remedies the Department of State and PennDOT must take immediately to fix this legally questionable registration scheme. First, PennDOT should immediately stop offering voter registration changes to all interactions outside driver’s and non-driver’s license updates or issuances. Second, to ensure voters are aware they may have had their voting address changed, PennDOT and the Department of State should jointly identify and reach out to every voter who changed their voter registration via interaction with PennDOT to ensure they meant to change their voter registration.”
They also worry that more lawsuits against PennDOT and the Department of State are on the horizon.
The disagreement on AVR is another skirmish in the war between Republicans and Democrats over election security and turnout. During the COVID pandemic, voting rules were loosened – mostly by Democrats – allowing more election activity remotely and via mail. Many Republican-led states have reverted to pre-COVID election practices, or tightened ballot security even more.
The Shapiro administration defended the AVR program.
Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder told DVJournal people misunderstand how the AVR program operates. He promised that changing the address on a vehicle registration “does not automatically change” the voter registration address of a customer.
“Automatic voter registration is completely separate from the process by which a customer changes a vehicle registration address,” said Bonder.
He added people can opt out of having the voter registration address changed if a PennDOT customer changes the address on their ID or license.
Ironically, the AVR program appeared to benefit Republicans more than Democrats. Pennsylvania Department of State statistics said 4,900 more Republicans registered compared to Democrats. Voters registering independent led the way. About 55,000 more voters have been registered since the program started compared to the previous year, according to Broad + Liberty.
