A formal administrative complaint filed by America First Legal (AFL) alleges a 2018 Pennsylvania State Department directive may allow noncitizens and other ineligible individuals to register to vote. The complaint, filed on behalf of Zimolong, LLC, contends the state election directive contravenes the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, which mandates specific verification processes to ensure voter eligibility.
According to HAVA, a prospective voter must provide either a valid driver’s license number or, if they do not possess one, the last four digits of their Social Security number on their voter registration form. Additionally, election officials must verify these numbers against state and federal databases. This verification system is designed to ensure that only eligible voters are registered.
However, Pennsylvania’s 2018 election directive states that voter registration applications “may not be rejected based solely on a non-match between the applicant’s identifying numbers on their application and the comparison database numbers.” AFL contends that this guidance violates HAVA and potentially allows ineligible individuals, including noncitizens, to be added to the state’s voter rolls. HAVA explicitly states an application may not be processed unless it includes a valid driver’s license number or the last four digits of the applicant’s Social Security number. If an applicant lacks both, the state must assign a unique identifying number.
“Americans all across the United States have legitimate concerns about the security of our elections. Yet the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has adopted and maintained a voter registration process that clearly and unambiguously violates basic federal law intended to provide a minimum baseline of security,” AFL’s executive director and general counsel, Gene Hamilton, said in a statement. He added: “The Secretary of State must abandon this unlawful practice and comply with federal law to prevent fraud in elections in Pennsylvania.”
