Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
RITE challenges a 2018 directive from the Pennsylvania Department of State that undermines the integrity of the voter registration process by prohibiting counties from rejecting registrations from voters who provide Driver’s License numbers and parts of Social Security numbers that do not match the information in official databases. Pennsylvania law requires election officials to verify voter identity and ensure applications are complete and accurate before registering an applicant. However, the Department’s directive forces election officials to accept applications even when the provided driver’s license or Social Security number does not match official databases, contradicting statutory obligations and frustrating voter registration list maintenance objectives. RITE seeks a court ruling invalidating the directive, restoring local officials’ ability to enforce existing election laws and ensuring that only qualified electors are added to Pennsylvania’s voter rolls.