Pa.’s top election official answers your questions

• Ben Wasserstein/WITF
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  Howdy, I’m Ben, and I cover the state Capitol. In an alternate universe, my bio would read that I graduated from college, traveled to Bhutan and trained in martial arts so that one day I could return and defend my city from crime … like Batman.
  
  In reality, I graduated from the University of Richmond in 2021 and joined WITF in June of 2023. In between I was down in Charleston, South Carolina at the Post and Courier.
  
  I like helping people and, in my opinion, one of the best ways to do that is to inform them. That’s why I love reporting and covering politics.
  
  When I’m not working, you will probably see me with my dog Ozzy, consuming an unhealthy amount of coffee or visiting some local bars.

 Tom Downing / WITF

Pa. Secretary of State Al Schmidt speaks at WITF's Unpacking the Vote event on Sept. 16, 2024.

For Al Schmidt, elections have changed, but they’ve never been more secure.

At an event hosted by WITF+LNP and the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College Monday, the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth took questions from voters ahead of the November 5 election.

He talked about how after the 2020 election, outside organizations accessed the election machines in Fulton County, leading the Department of State to decertify them. 

County commissioners had allowed this, and now the county faces $1 million in legal fees.

He said it’s a shame that taxpayers are paying for that decision.

Mail ballots have been universal since the passage of Act 77 in 2019, but concerns over minute details, such as dating the outer envelope, remain a point of contention.

Last week, the state Supreme Court ruled that ballots with an incorrect date can not be counted, months after the Commonwealth Court ruled the misdating was “inconsequential.”

Schmidt said he was disappointed in the decision because it creates uncertainty close to the election. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if the case goes back to the Commonwealth Court.

He mentioned the dateline has affected older voters who got confused and wrote in their birthday rather than the date they were completing the form.

The last presidential election was fraught with threats of political violence leading up to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

As part of the Shapiro administration’s effort to ensure a safe election, it set up an election threats task force, led by Schmidt.

The group consists of local, state and federal partners and meets weekly.

“If there were threats targeting voters or efforts to intimidate them or threats of violence or intimidation toward poll workers or anything else like that,” he said, “we’re prepared to respond to make sure that we could defend their right to vote.”

Ballot curing is when a voter is contacted to fix a mistake on their ballot. This can be a missing secrecy envelope or signature. 

One person asked him to explain that process and why counties have different standards for handling it.

Schmidt called on the legislature to establish common rules.

“It’s really, respectfully, the legislature’s decision to pass a law,” he said.

The last day to register to vote is October 21, and the last day to request a mail ballot is October 29.

Ballots must be submitted by 8 p.m. on November 5.

Voters can register at vote.pa.gov

A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.

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