Hello, Pennsylvania!

All eyes in Pennsylvania this November will be on the governor’s race where incumbent Josh Shapiro is up for reelection against Republican Stacy Garrity. But before that election answers the question of who our next governor will be, we had some questions of our own — about elections themselves!

The governor can have tremendous influence on the state’s election policy. Besides the obvious bully pulpit they can wield to push their agenda through the legislature, the governor can make decisions on things such as how voter registration works at state agencies or whether the state should join interstate compacts. They also appoint the secretary of the commonwealth, who has administrative authority over various aspects of election administration.

So how do Shapiro and Garrity compare on priorities? Shapiro has a long track record to examine, but many of his first-term ambitions were stymied by legislative inaction. Garrity’s priorities are less defined, and she’s been on the back foot on this issue over comments she made about the 2020 election. But for both, there’s still plenty to explore. Read the full story here. 

Scott Presler seems to be dominating the news recently, and we have a new story on that front as well. Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, lodged a complaint with the Department of State alleging that Presler did not properly disclose his spending on the 2025 judicial retention races. Penalties for this kind of thing are generally minimal, but Public Citizen says Presler should disclose his spending for transparency’s sake alone. Get the details here. 

Quote of the Week

“It was clear that DHS did not have confidence that the numbers they have stated publicly were accurate.”

This week’s quote is from the Pennsylvania Department of State. This was part of a statement the department gave me when I asked if they had had any further contact with the Department of Homeland Security regarding the allegation that there were thousands of potential noncitizens on Pennsylvania’ voter rolls.

The department told me they had a recent meeting with DHS to discuss the methodology used to find these potential noncitizens, and that this was the state’s impression of that meeting. They went on to say, however, that “should DHS provide credible proof of any noncitizens on the voter rolls, DOS will refer those individuals to the appropriate county and notify law enforcement where appropriate.”

What else should I look into? You can always reach me by email at [email protected], on X @ByCarterWalker, or on Bluesky @bycarterwalker.bsky.social. Follow me on TikTok and Instagram for video explainers of Pennsylvania voting and elections news.

And if you know someone who might be interested in our reporting on elections and voting throughout Pennsylvania, forward them this newsletter — they can sign up for it here.

Also, I highly recommend that you join Votebeat’s Expert Desk for the 2026 midterms. Journalists can ask questions in Slack and get on-the-record answers from vetted election experts — helping speed up reporting during one of the most hectic stretches of the year. It’s completely free. Reporters and editors can join here.

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