Bill > HR56

This resolution directs the Joint State Government Commission (JSGC), a legislative research agency, to conduct a comprehensive study on voting infrastructure and wait times in Pennsylvania. The study aims to analyze how poll workers, polling places, voting compartments, and voting machines are currently used across counties and election districts, with a specific focus on understanding and reducing disparities in voting wait times. The resolution highlights existing inequities, noting that in 2018, Black and Latino voters waited an average of 11 minutes to vote compared to 9 minutes for white voters, and that wait times tend to increase in precincts with higher percentages of non-white voters. The JSGC is authorized to request information from the Department of State, county election boards, and district election boards to support the study. The study must include detailed breakdowns of voting infrastructure utilization, average wait times by various demographic factors, and recommendations for legislative or administrative actions to minimize voting wait times and reduce inequities based on geography, economic status, race, gender, and other relevant factors. The JSGC is required to report its findings and recommendations to the House of Representatives within one year of the resolution's adoption.

Government Affairs

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2025&sind=0&body=H&type=R&bn=56