Sign up for email alerts with Votebeat’s reporting on what's shaping the 2026 midterms. You’ll get emails as stories publish.

Hello, Pennsylvania!

We’ve got two interesting new stories for you this week, and a legislative update.

First, a new study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has found that when voters have the foreknowledge and ability to rectify issues with their mail ballots, they are much more likely to have their votes counted. It may seem intuitive, but the study lends quantitative credence to the arguments counties have been making for “notice and cure” policies. Read the full story here.

Next, I spent my primary Election Day observing a rather unique subset of election workers: students. In Pennsylvania, 17 year olds can serve as poll workers, and every year hundreds of high schoolers get the day off school to work in their communities. Almost all that I spoke with said the money was a big plus, but they also said they enjoyed getting to see the process unfold. Read more about it here.

Finally, there’s been some bills moving in the state legislature recently. Earlier this month, the Senate State Government Committee advanced a bill that would eliminate drop boxes and satellite voting offices. And just this week, the House passed a bill that would give counties more time before the election to prep mail ballots for counting, aka pre-canvassing. Here’s the thing — and it's fair if you call me a pessimist for this — but there’s a reason we didn’t write a full story on this: Neither really seems to have a chance at passing.

The state Senate has made clear they’re not going to take up election measures unless they also get voter ID, which they want in the form of a hard-to-pass constitutional amendment. And there doesn’t seem to be an appetite in the House to take up proposals like the one to eliminate drop boxes and satellite voting offices, especially considering that the speaker of the lower chamber comes from a county where those options are very popular. Bottom line, the divided government in Pennsylvania has made any election reform hard to obtain, even the House bill’s sponsor sees that. Democrats, at least in theory, have the chance to gain the trifecta this fall. Could that change the equation?  

State Rep. Brad Roae raised a concern this week that implementing pre-canvassing could allow dead people to vote. As reported by The Centre Square, Roae was arguing that if the House’s pre-canvassing bill becomes law, and if someone dies after they returned a mail ballot and the ballot envelope is opened, there would be no way to disqualify their vote.

Roae is correct. Pennsylvania law doesn’t allow for ballots cast by voters who die to be counted, and as the National Conference of State Legislatures notes, once the ballot is separated from the envelope, it can’t be retraced to the voter. Some states with pre-canvassing, like Florida, count these ballots, but Pennsylvania does not. That’s something the legislature might have to grapple with if it decides to implement pre-canvassing.

“People complain all the time. I tell them, ‘If you have a problem, go vote. You don’t vote, then don’t complain.’”

This week’s quote comes from Frank Ostafy, an 80-year-old resident of Mercer County, as reported by Allied News. He was one of 52 Mercer County residents being inducted into the Voter Hall of Fame for voting in every election over the past 50 years.

Good advice, Frank.

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.

Looking for your next read? Check out these other great newsletters.