Bill Text: PA HB958 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Further providing for qualifications of electors at primaries, for only enrolled electors to vote at primaries or hold party offices, for candidates to be nominated and party officers to be elected at primaries and for persons entitled to vote and challenges.

Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-17 - Referred to STATE GOVERNMENT [HB958 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB958-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 1096
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 958 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY GIBBONS, BEYER, CARROLL, HARHAI, HORNAMAN, KIRKLAND, MANDERINO, SIPTROTH, SWANGER AND VULAKOVICH, MARCH 17, 2009
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 17, 2009
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled
"An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,
special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,
primary and election expenses and election contests; creating
and defining membership of county boards of elections;
imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,
courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;
imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,
revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and
repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to
elections," further providing for qualifications of electors
at primaries, for only enrolled electors to vote at primaries
or hold party offices, for candidates to be nominated and
party officers to be elected at primaries and for persons
entitled to vote and challenges.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 702 and 802 of the act of June 3, 1937
(P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, are
amended to read:
Section 702. Qualifications of Electors at Primaries.--The
qualifications of electors entitled to vote at primaries shall
be the same as the qualifications of electors entitled to vote
at elections within the election district where the primary is
held, provided that no elector who is not registered [and
enrolled as a member of a political party], in accordance with
the provisions of this act, shall be permitted to vote the
ballot of [such party or] any [other] party [ballot] at any
primary.
Section 802. Only Enrolled Electors to Vote at Primaries or
Hold Party Offices.--No person who is not registered and
enrolled as a member of a political party shall be entitled to
[vote at any primary of such party or to] be elected or serve as
a party officer, or a member or officer of any party committee,
or delegate or alternate delegate to any party convention.
Section 2. Section 902 of the act, amended May 23, 1949
(P.L.1656, No.504), is amended to read:
Section 902. Candidates to Be Nominated and Party Officers
to Be Elected at Primaries.--All candidates of political
parties, as defined in section 801 of this act, for the offices
of United States Senator, Representative in Congress and for all
other elective public offices within this State, except that of
presidential electors, shall be nominated, and party delegates
and alternate delegates, committeemen and officers who, under
the provisions of Article VIII of this act or under the party
rules, are required to be elected by the party electors, shall
be elected at primaries held in accordance with the provisions
of this act, except as otherwise provided in this act. In the
years when candidates for the office of President of the United
States are to be nominated, every registered [and enrolled
member of a political party] elector shall have the opportunity
at the Spring primary in such years to vote [his] a preference
for one person to be the candidate of [his] a political party
for President.
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Section 3. Section 1210(d) of the act, amended October 8,
2004 (P.L.807, No.97), is amended to read:
Section 1210. Manner of Applying to Vote; Persons Entitled
to Vote; Voter's Certificates; Entries to Be Made in District
Register; Numbered Lists of Voters; Challenges.--* * *
(d) No person, except a qualified elector who is in actual
military or naval service under a requisition of the President
of the United States or by the authority of this Commonwealth,
and who votes under the provisions of Article XIII of this act,
shall be entitled or permitted to vote at any primary or
election at any polling place outside the election district in
which [he] the person resides, nor shall [he] the person be
permitted to vote in the election district in which [he] the
person resides, unless [he] the person has been personally
registered as an elector and [his] the person's registration
card appears in the district register of such election district,
except by order of the court of common pleas as provided in this
act, and any person, although personally registered as an
elector, may be challenged by any qualified elector, election
officer, overseer, or watcher at any primary or election as to
[his] identity, as to [his] continued residence in the election
district or as to any alleged violation of the provisions of
section 1210 of this act, and if challenged as to identity or
residence, [he] the person shall produce at least one qualified
elector of the election district as a witness, who shall make
affidavit of his identity or continued residence in the election
district: Provided, however, That no person shall be entitled to
vote as a member of a party at any primary, unless [he] the
person is:
(1) registered and enrolled as a member of such party upon
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the district register, which enrollment shall be conclusive as
to [his] party membership and shall not be subject to challenge
on the day of the primary[.]; or
(2) registered as an independent or nonparty voter upon the
district register and requests to vote as a member of a party at
the primary. The person shall sign and file the following
affidavit of provisional registration with the election district
no later than thirty days before the primary:
I do solemnly swear or affirm that my name is ,
that my date of birth is , and at the time that I
registered I resided at
in the
municipality of in County
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and that in this primary
election only I am filing provisional registration to vote as
a member of the party in the year ,
which shall not be subject to challenge on the day of the
primary.
Signature of Voter/Elector
Current Address
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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