Pennsylvania: Limits on Voter Eligibility Challenges

Written and published in partnership with All Voting is Local, with special thanks to Jenner & Block, LLP

Pennsylvania, like most states, allows private individuals to challenge another person’s eligibility to vote. This resource details state and federal laws that govern this process and protect challenged voters. Pennsylvania’s voter protections include a requirement that pre-election challenges be made by sworn affidavit, a prohibition on Election Day challenges made on any grounds other than identity or residency, and a right to a noticed and recorded hearing for absentee and mail-in ballot challenges.

Pre-election challenges to a voter’s registration must be made by written affidavit.

• Only a commissioner, registrar or clerk, or another voter from the same municipality may challenge a voter’s registration. footnote1_lNJvgjLJdylxMCTO9MgUmphAQd4NXx2fRrXKEyzoW5Y_gS4jqAwt1b6P1 25 Pa. Stat. § 1329.
• The challenge must be made on a challenge affidavit form that states the reason for the challenge. footnote2_QsVqA2fZde6KhvEAA9ysz1X61y-QembHMq4qV6E4aQ_hBEKhCpCAtOr2Id.A challenger who lies on the challenge affidavit may be charged with a criminal offense. footnote3_M-7GF1QLRp2rO9J-l5cxOSEtsG1Li17DpsBV1EFUDY_thRDo76F3IYZ3 18 Pa. Stat § 4904.
• A challenged voter must be given the opportunity to respond and should do so in a sworn or affirmed written statement with any supporting evidence attached. footnote4_YGsThULlOup6CVCXNDMwYMBTG796fEEfJFaYHquOI0o_sq4XdVXk2IJ84 25 Pa. Stat. § 1329(c).
• The National Voter Registration Act limits when and how voters can be removed from the rolls. Under the act, states and counties are permitted to remove a voter in just five circumstances: if the voter affirms the change; if state law requires, for a criminal conviction or mental incapacity; for the death of the voter; if the voter confirms a change of residence in writing; and based on other evidence of a change of residence, but only after the state sends a notice and the voter both fails to respond and fails to vote in the next two federal general elections. These restrictions apply regardless of whether clerks are conducting their own list maintenance or responding to challenges.
• The act also prohibits the “systematic” removal of voters within 90 days of a federal election. According to guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice, “This 90-day deadline applies to State list maintenance verification activities such as general mailings and door-to-door canvasses. This deadline also applies to list maintenance programs based on third-party challenges derived from any large, computerized data-matching process.”footnote5_O8WdYBls92WB-kDdtAd7YRwDd1ZBw3pI6O2bik-DFGE_nBzR7yTY94Wj5 U.S. Department of Justice, Voter Registration List Maintenance: Guidance under Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act, 52 U.S.C. § 20507, 4, September 2024, https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1366561/dl.

Pennsylvania limits the grounds for Election Day challenges.

• Only a registered voter, election officer, overseer, or poll watcher may challenge a voter on Election Day.
• The only permissible grounds for an Election Day challenge are that the voter is impersonating the registrant, that they are not a resident, or that they’ve been bribed. footnote6_TtIxErzUysNX0v2jgkikdBsM0u6w8seogYUj-VER4_kSaETMjKvK1F6 25 Pa. Stat. § 3050(d); 25 Pa. Stat. § 3051; Pennsylvania Department of State, Guidance on Rules in Effect at the Polling Place on Election Day, October 2016, 4–5, https://www.dos.pa.gov/VotingElections/OtherServicesEvents/Documents/DOS%20GUIDANCE%20ON%20RULES%20IN%20EFFECT%20AT%20THE%20POLLING%20PLACE%20ON%20ELECTION%20DAY%2010–16.pdf. A voter’s eligibility to register to vote is not a permissible challenge at the polls. footnote7_uMqgKLqdedF0SNHK4Blyveff2fcFmJng0JTMCiCZJUU_beI2XX8wMKjU7 PA Department of State, Guidance on Rules at the Polling Place, 4.
• Challenges must be directed to the judges of elections, who will determine if the challenge was made in good faith and based on actual evidence that the challenged person is not qualified to vote. footnote8_VwBoJcifBKk2AislpAjhTPPPIASNbyRvpDbCc7utaw_eNkYg0MC1Dtx8 PA Department of State, Guidance Concerning Poll Watchers and Authorized Representatives, October 5, 2022, https://www.vote.pa.gov/Your-Rights/Pages/Poll-Watchers.aspx.
• “A person is presumed to be a bona fide qualified elector and must be allowed to vote if his or her name appears on the poll book.”footnote9_M49Ryh1TwChigc879IHctqG4FNxVTSEOI6SGKV3q08_bvreifyqO8ym9 PA Department of State, Guidance on Rules at the Polling Place, 5.
• The judge of elections must “impartially and faithfully perform [his or her] duties,” as required by the oath taken before each election. footnote10_CNLKV2dny1awE7rn0L6Dguf2uDe48krhbm1-MOJibQ_jMuUTPEdIZsJ10 25 Pa. Stat. § 2677. Judges of elections are prohibited from allowing “routine or frivolous challenges that are not supported by a stated good faith basis and evidence that a person is or may not be eligible.”footnote11_OZkUZe6iBD2io4gO6nvkpsxa9umKSDvEl0ZRbBSKtbw_o2EATRbmq3FP11 PA Department of State, Guidance Concerning Poll Watchers.
• If the judge of elections is satisfied as to the identity and residency of the voter, the voter may vote a regular ballot. footnote12_96IMJDJdcy-dW8n7vsEw7-wL0uxFIYrDXXECFyEvZ8E_vEvdfxToVDdv12 PA Department of State, Guidance on Rules at the Polling Place, 5.

• If the judge of elections cannot determine the residency or identity of the voter, the voter shall be permitted to bring another voter from the precinct to sign an affidavit vouching for the voter’s identity or residence. footnote13_Qf5F-vSDgkV65DN81dea-cWZ70JwDFLtNhh-4X2fPYM_totbXFJSAJkH13Id. The voter then has the right to vote a regular ballot. footnote14_Qf5F-vSDgkV65DN81dea-cWZ70JwDFLtNhh-4X2fPYM_aa6YYp1ErMFg14Id. A challenged voter who cannot procure a witness to vouch for them must be allowed to vote a provisional ballot. footnote15_73UjQkaTwXJ1tqukrp8IDW9wwnMLA10OWjV4La321zs_iKHRafuof7Ju15 52 U.S.C. § 21082(a); 25 Pa. Stat. § 3050(a.2); PA Department of State, Guidance on Rules at the Polling Place, 5.

  A formal hearing and deposit are required for challenges to absentee and mail-in ballot voters.

• Individuals must deposit $10 per challenge to an absentee or mail-in ballot voterfootnote16_Re1gdFEDDaQLt3hlw92t9LvhYyEitux-9Fbu90fic_gvLCTX24Ozue16 25 Pa. Stat. § 3146.8(f). and may only challenge their vote on the basis of eligibility. footnote17_mMvQhSvx3h00HjQBwl8iN1hI2WbsjBwhj98sBrzx8_i5sFTkyS920d17 25 Pa. Stat. § 3146.2b(a); 25 Pa. Stat. § 3150.12b(a)(2). These challenges, and any challenge to a provisional ballot, are subject to a noticed and recorded hearing. footnote18_gyEmz7jRmaWlgc-nYeyKOKngIiiG2OeljRzH1zcpEg_gEVej96ryO9o18 25 Pa. Stat. § 3146.8(g)(5) (Absentee and mail-in ballots); 25 Pa. Stat. § 3050(a.4)(4) (Provisional ballots).

• Authorized representatives designated by candidates or political parties may not challenge absentee or mail-in ballots during the pre-canvass or canvass period and may only challenge a provisional ballot on the basis of residency. footnote19_W4rmJCtb8izllNy1ppVgO25u8TryYMKwnlN65myn9I_a442PJixZzSt19 PA Department of State, Guidance Concerning Poll Watchers, 5–6; 25 Pa. Stat. § 3050(a.4)(4).

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  Voters in Pennsylvania have the right to vote free from intimidation under federal and state law. Baseless challenges to a voter’s eligibility can harass and intimidate the voter being challenged, as well as other voters waiting to vote at the polls. More information on the federal and state laws that protect Pennsylvania voters from intimidation can be found here.