Republicans sue Gov. Shapiro over automatic voter registration
Data shows voter registrations via PennDOT are up 44%
Republican state lawmakers who are part of the Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus are challenging Gov. Josh Shapiro’s automatic voter registration policy, claiming in a federal lawsuit that the Democrat infringed on their civil rights to make election law.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania by 23 members of the state House of Representatives, including Dawn Keefer (92nd House District) and David Rowe (85th House District) who are leaders of the Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus. No Lehigh Valley lawmakers are listed as plaintiffs.
The 33-page lawsuit was also filed against President Joe Biden, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt and Jonathan Marks, deputy secretary for elections and commissions.
The lawsuit comes as Pennsylvania is once again a key battleground state for the presidential election, one where every vote will count – though new registrations don’t automatically translate into votes at the polls.
For the period Sept. 19, 2023, to Jan. 24, 2024, the number of new voters (44,234) via the state Department of Transportation was 44% higher than the period between Sept. 14, 2021, and Jan. 19, 2022, when new voters had to opt-in to register. Both time frames include November municipal elections.
Data from the Department of State shows Republicans with more new voters (14,992) than Democrats (13,704) between Sept. 19 and Jan. 24. The “Other” category – those with no affiliation or who belong to minor political parties – had the most new voters (15,538).
That’s a change from two years ago when the breakdown for new voters was Democrats with 10,897, “Other” with 10,393 and Republican with 9,356.
AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION
9-19-2023 to 1-24-2024
Total: 115,596*
New voter registrations: 44, 234
Democrats: 13,704
Republicans: 14,992
Other: 15,538*Number of new and renewal applications for driver’s licenses and photo IDs that automatically flowed into the automatic voter registration system.
9-14-2021 to 1-19-2022
Total: 68,137*
New voter registrations: 30,646
Democrats: 10,897
Republicans: 9,356
Other: 10,393*Number of new and renewal applications for driver’s licenses and photo IDs. Voter registration required an additional opt-in.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State
Lawsuit details
The lawsuit alleges that the lawmakers’ civil rights were violated under the Electors Clause and Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Under the clauses, the lawsuit says, the state legislature is the body that should be making decisions about elections.
It seeks judgments and/or injunctive relief that declare the actions of Shapiro, Biden, Schmidt and Marks are unconstitutional and cannot be done without the approval and participation of the state legislature.
“The citizens of Pennsylvania have been victimized by extraordinary overreach of executive officials who have made changes to election laws with no authority to do so,” Keefer said in a press release.
“If we don’t take action to stop this, there is no limit to the changes they might make to further erode Pennsylvania’s election system in 2024 and beyond,” she said.
Shapiro, the lawsuit alleges, violated their rights with his September decision allowing automatic voter registration for residents obtaining or renewing driver licenses and ID cards at the state Department of Transportation.
Under the new system, all Pennsylvania residents who seek to renew or obtain new driver’s licenses or photo IDs through PennDOT are automatically taken through the automatic voter registration process unless they “opt out.”
Previously, residents had to “opt in” to register to vote. Twenty-three other states, including Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, have automatic voter registration.
Pennsylvania streamlines voter registration process when applying for driver's license
The lawsuit said Shapiro was not allowed to get rid of the “opt in” option because state law says PennDOT must provide eligible voters with an “application.”
“An application, by definition, is a formal request to an authority. It requires an overt action by the person,” the lawsuit says.
In the case of Biden, the lawsuit alleges the Democratic president usurped their rights with Executive Order 14019, which requires all federal agencies to develop a plan to increase voter registration and voter participation.
In one example in the lawsuit, the lawmakers said the 2021 order led public housing units to allow voter registration drives in those units – allegedly violating a 2022 law passed by the state House and Senate meant to prevent third-party influence on voter registration.
The Pennsylvania law says no outside party can support such efforts and no federal money was spent on the voter registration drives.
Schmidt and Marks were sued for directives that the lawsuit alleges violate state law, including one issued in 2018 that the state said was based on federal law. It advised counties not to reject voter registration applications solely if the applicant’s driver’s license or Social Security number didn’t match those in comparison databases.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Manuel Bonder, Shapiro’s press secretary, responded to the lawsuit, writing, “The Administration looks forward to once again defending our democracy in court against those advancing dangerous, extreme legal theories.”
Keefer and Rowe are leaders of the Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus, which formed shortly after the November 2022 election when Shapiro was elected governor and Democrats won 12 seats in the House, giving them their first. albeit slight, majority since 2010.
The group is part of the State Freedom Caucus Network, whose website says, “From Election Integrity to Critical Race Theory, the most important fights of today are happening in the states. SFCN will provide conservatives in state capitals nationwide the resources they need to win.”
Besides Keefer and Rowe, the other plaintiffs include state Reps.Timothy Bonner, Barry Jozwiak, Barbara Gleim, Joseph Hamm, Wendy Fink, Robert Kauffman, Stephanie Borowicz, Donald “Bud” Cook, Paul “Mike”Jones, Joseph D’Orsie, Charity Krupa, Leslie Rossi, David Zimmerman, Robert Leadbeter, Daniel Moul, Thomas Jones, David Malony, Timothy Twardzik, Joanee Stehr, Aaron Berstine and Kathy Rapp. Sen. Cris Dush is also a plaintiff.