Harrisburg, PA – As Pennsylvania counties wrap up the latest round of their routine voter list maintenance, the Department of State today highlighted the Commonwealth's process to ensure voter rolls are accurate heading into November’s election.
Pennsylvania's 67 county boards of elections are responsible for maintaining voter registration records through the Commonwealth's Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE) system. County election officials - not the Department of State - conduct voter list maintenance throughout the year using procedures established by state and federal law. Much of this work is done annually, typically between May and July.
"Maintaining accurate voter registration lists is essential to ensuring free, fair, safe, and secure elections," said Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt. "Pennsylvania's county election officials follow carefully prescribed legal procedures to keep voter rolls current while protecting eligible voters from being improperly removed. Routine voter list maintenance is an important part of administering elections and should not be misconstrued as any attempt to disenfranchise eligible voters."
Voter registration records are constantly changing as voters move, pass away, or update their registration information. Because of this, election officials regularly review reliable sources of information - including death records, U.S. Postal Service change-of-address information, and interstate voter registration data - to identify records that may require updating.
State and federal laws require counties to follow specific procedures before making changes to a voter's registration, and counties are required to contact voters before a voter record is cancelled.
Also, as part of routine voter list maintenance, some voters may be moved from active to inactive status. Voters may be placed on inactive status when they are identified as having submitted a USPS mail forwarding request, registered in another state, or they have not taken any action on their voter record for a five-year period. They may also be placed on inactive status when they do not respond to an initial notice of receipt of a change of address mailing or when a mailing to their registered address is returned as undeliverable.
Here is the data from the most recent round of voter list maintenance:
| DEMOCRATIC | REPUBLICAN | OTHER | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Registered Voters Jan. 5 | 3,815,575 | 3,643,898 | 1,460,852 | 8,920,325 |
Total Registered Voters Aug. 3 | 3,842,719 | 3,636,289 | 1,496,727 | 8,975,735 |
Total Registered Voters Change | 27,144 | -7,609 | 35,875 | 55,410 |
Active Jan. 5 | 3,556,782 | 3,506,471 | 1,339,304 | 8,402,557 |
Active Aug. 3 | 3,405,389 | 3,379,578 | 1,288,572 | 8,073,539 |
Active Change | -151,393 | -126,893 | -50,732 | -329,018 |
Inactive Jan. 5 | 258,793 | 137,427 | 121,548 | 517,768 |
Inactive Aug. 3 | 437,330 | 256,711 | 208,155 | 902,196 |
Inactive Change | 178,537 | 119,284 | 86,607 | 384,428 |
Inactive status does not prevent a voter from casting a ballot and does not mean the voter's registration has been cancelled. Under federal and state law, a voter generally remains registered unless they fail to respond to required notices and do not vote in two consecutive federal general election cycles after being moved to inactive status. At that point, the registered voter moves from inactive status to having their registration cancelled.
Every year, counties cancel the records of voters on the basis of the death of the voter, confirmation that they have moved out of their voting jurisdiction, or because a voter in inactive status does not vote or update their record for two general federal elections. The Department is committed to transparency and publishes annual reports detailing voter registration and list maintenance activities, including the number of registrations cancelled and voters designated as inactive each year.
The Department of State publishes updated statewide voter registration statistics every Monday. Recent updates reflect routine voter list maintenance activities, including voters transitioning from active to inactive status. These updates are a normal part of election administration and should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter registration cancellations.
Pennsylvania also maintains multiple safeguards to protect election integrity. State law requires voters to verify their identity when registering to vote and provide identification when voting for the first time at a new polling place. All evidence has consistently shown that noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare in Pennsylvania and nationwide.
Members of the public can access weekly voter registration statistics, historical election data, annual voter registration reports, election directives and guidance, and other election administration resources on the Department of State's website. To learn more about annual voter list maintenance, visit the Department’s Fact-Checking Pennsylvania-Related Election Claims page.