PA Counts: Sec. of State Al Schmidt talks election integrity

(WHTM) – On This Week in Pennsylvania, Secretary of State Al Schmidt sits down with Dennis Owens to discuss the state’s election system and questions still being offered about its integrity.

Schmidt described the “biggest challenge” with running elections is voter turnout and the turnover in election administration.

“It’s not unique to Pennsylvania, but it’s been pretty pervasive when you have new people running elections who do not have a lot of experience running elections, they’re more likely to make mistakes and make mistakes in an environment where everything is perceived to be nefarious and intentional and seeking to change the outcome,” said Schmidt.

After overseeing his first general election as Secretary of State, Schmidt says one of the most important things he and county leaders need to focus on is recruiting younger people to participate in the process.

“The most important people are is not the secretary of state. It’s not county election directors. It’s the volunteers in your neighborhood who are making sure that your polling place is up and running so you can cast your vote and have your vote counted.”

This week during State Senate hearing, officials questioned the use of ballot drop boxes by some Pennsylvania counties and say there’s a lack of inspections on voting machines. Officials also criticized the SURE system that maintains voter registration rolls, which will be replaced in 2025 after the presidential election.

“I think it’s always important to ask questions about elections,” acknowledged Schmidt. “There is nothing wrong with asking questions about elections. It’s important though that the people asking those questions are seeking actual answers to those questions and not asking them with the intention of undermining confidence in election results. If you are sincerely interested in knowing the answer, if your questions are grounded in reality and not some sort of nonsense that is being spread around on social media or anything else like that, if you’ve a sincere interest in the answer to those questions, all those questions deserve to be answered.”

Schmidt, who served as a Republican Commissioner during the 2020 election, added he wants voters to know everything with the election system is “on the up and up” with checks and balances in place.

“There are two audits after every election that every county experiences. It’s important that voters kind of tune out a lot of the chatter that they’re hearing. A lot of these things are not very controversial and a lot of them are really designed to deceive people. And that’s, I think, one of the bigger challenges that we face as election administrators.”

Since being nominated by Governor Josh Shapiro and taking office, Schmidt and the Shapiro Administration have implemented changes meant to improve the election process.

One of those changes was automatic voter registration when voters get or change their driver’s license at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The other makes uniform and less confusing mail-in ballot envelopes.

Schmidt acknowledges his fellow Republicans have not embraces mail voting.

“Ultimately, we want every voter to cast their vote in whatever method they prefer,” said Schmidt. “If you want to vote in person on Election Day, you should absolutely vote in person on Election Day if you want. That can be answered voting by mail so you have more time to review the candidates and do some homework before casting your vote.”

Schmidt added “it’s not about discouraging or encouraging anyone to vote in any particular way. The fundamental thing is making sure that everyone can cast their vote.”

Schmidt knows drop boxes for mail-ballots, which are not in Act 77 and created by courts, concern Republicans. There have been incidents of people dropping off more than one ballot, which is illegal.

“The main difference between a drop box and a mailbox is a drop box has a camera on it recording everything that’s going on. It has something on it that states you may only drop off your own ballot and and all the rest,” said Schmidt.

While Pennsylvania’s 67 counties each run their own elections, Schmidt wants counties to be uniform and does not like when courts make last minute rulings. He says uniformity builds confidence and insists that while there can be human hiccups, there is never widespread fraud.

“I think voters should have confidence that elections in Pennsylvania are, have never been more, safe, and never been more secure with a voter verifiable ballot. After every election that’s used in not one but two audits, voting is not controversial. Every voter should exercise their right to vote. Democrats, Republicans and all the rest to make sure their voice voice is heard and who is representing them.”

The Department of State and the Shapiro Administration have looked at the 2024 election long before the 2023 election ended, says Schmidt, to make sure things run smoothly with all eyes on the Keystone State.

The last four winners of the presidency (Presidents Biden, Trump, and Obama) have each won Pennsylvania’s electoral votes.

“It’s a long a lot of work that goes into making sure an election runs smoothly,” said Schmidt. “There’s no redos, there’s no do overs. Any error that occurs is completely unacceptable. So at the county and state level, we have to do everything we can to mitigate against anything occurring that will prevent voters from casting their vote and having their vote counted.”

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