State of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Voter Roll Maintenance Challenge (1789 Foundation)

1789 Foundation, Inc v. Schmidt

Lawsuit filed by the 1789 Foundation and a voter against Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt (R) and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania challenging the state’s voter roll maintenance practices. The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) requires states to maintain their voter rolls by contacting voters who may no longer be eligible to vote in the state due to a change in residency. If a voter does not respond to the state’s confirmation notice, they must first be marked as ‘inactive’ for two federal election cycles before they are fully removed from the state’s voter rolls. 

The foundation claims that Pennsylvania’s voter rolls currently include over 277,000 registrants who did not respond to confirmation notices in the 2020 general election cycle who may no longer be eligible to vote in the state. The foundation argues that Pennsylvania’s failure to maintain current and accurate voter rolls violates Section 8 of the NVRA. They also assert that the secretary’s inability to provide voter roll records to the foundation within thirty days of their request violates the NVRA’s Public Disclosure Provision. The foundation asks the court to ban Pennsylvania from allowing any inactive registrants who are now ineligible from voting in the November 2024 general election, and to administer an NVRA-compliant list maintenance program in the future. They also ask the court to order the state to immediately provide them with the requested voter roll records in compliance with the NVRA.

STATUS: 1789 Foundation filed its complaint and accompanying motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on Oct. 29, 2024. The state defendants have not responded yet. A telephone conference is scheduled for Oct. 31, 2024.

Case Documents

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