On Tuesday, America First Legal (AFL) and Zimolong, LLC, filed a formal administrative complaint with the Pennsylvania Department of State regarding patent violations of Title III of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 by allowing ineligible voters, and non-citizens, to vote.
Under HAVA, an individual registering to vote must supply a current and valid driver’s license number or the last four digits of his or her social security number on the registration form. In turn, HAVA requires local election officials to confirm whether these numbers are current and valid using available databases.
However, Pennsylvania’s voter registration system blatantly violates this federal law. In fact, the Secretary of the Commonwealth has directed all 67 county boards of election to ignore HAVA’s verification mandate and to register any applicant to vote regardless of whether an applicant’s driver’s license or social security number can be verified.
This lawless directive violates federal law and creates a regime where an untold number of ineligible voters, including non-citizens, can register to vote in all state and federal elections in the Commonwealth.
Today, AFL has taken the first step in demanding a change to this lawless election registration procedure and restoring the people’s faith in future elections.
Statement from Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Executive Director, Executive Vice President, and General Counsel:
“Americans all across the United States have legitimate concerns about the security of our elections. Yet the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has adopted and maintained a voter registration process that clearly and unambiguously violates basic federal law intended to provide a minimum baseline of security. The Secretary of State must abandon this unlawful practice and comply with federal law to prevent fraud in elections in Pennsylvania,” said Gene Hamilton.
Read the complaint here.
