HB 1207 — An Act amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, in the Secretary of the Commonwealth, further providing for powers and duties of the Secretary of the Commonwealth and for explanation of ballot question and providing for wording of ballot question; in dates of elections and primaries and special elections, further providing for elections on proposed constitutional amendments; in ballots, further providing for form of official election ballot; in voting machines, further providing for form of ballot labels on voting machines; and, in preparation for and conduct of primaries and elections, further providing for publishing constitutional amendments.

PRINTER'S NO.   1355

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1207
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY ZIMMERMAN, B. MILLER, JAMES, HAMM, GAYDOS,
        PICKETT, KAUFFMAN, FINK AND T. JONES, APRIL 15, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, APRIL 15, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled
 2      "An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,
 3      special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,
 4      primary and election expenses and election contests; creating
 5      and defining membership of county boards of elections;
 6      imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,
 7      courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;
 8      imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,
 9      revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and
10      repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to
11      elections," in the Secretary of the Commonwealth, further
12      providing for powers and duties of the Secretary of the
13      Commonwealth and for explanation of ballot question and
14      providing for wording of ballot question; in dates of
15      elections and primaries and special elections, further
16      providing for elections on proposed constitutional
17      amendments; in ballots, further providing for form of
18      official election ballot; in voting machines, further
19      providing for form of ballot labels on voting machines; and,
20      in preparation for and conduct of primaries and elections,
21      further providing for publishing constitutional amendments.
22      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
23   hereby enacts as follows:
24      Section 1.    Sections 201(c) and 201.1 of the act of June 3,
25   1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election
26   Code, are amended to read:
27      Section 201.    Powers and Duties of the Secretary of the
 1   Commonwealth.--The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall exercise
 2   in the manner provided by this act all powers granted to him by
 3   this act, and shall perform all the duties imposed upon him by
 4   this act, which shall include the following:
 5      * * *
 6      (c)   To certify to county boards of elections for primaries
 7   and elections the names of the candidates for President and
 8   Vice-President of the United States, presidential electors,
 9   United States senators, representatives in Congress and all
10   State offices, including senators, representatives, and judges
11   of all courts of record, and delegates and alternate delegates
12   to National Conventions, and members of State committees, and
13   the form and wording of constitutional amendments, as prescribed
14   under section 201.2, or other questions to be submitted to the
15   electors of the State at large.
16      * * *
17      Section 201.1.   Explanation of Ballot Question.--(a)
18   Whenever a proposed constitutional amendment or other State-wide
19   ballot question shall be submitted to the electors of the
20   Commonwealth in referendum, the [Attorney General] Legislative
21   Reference Bureau shall prepare a statement in plain English
22   which indicates the purpose, limitations and effects of the
23   ballot question on the people of the Commonwealth. The
24   Legislative Reference Bureau shall publish the statement in the
25   Pennsylvania Bulletin and transmit the statement to the
26   Secretary of the Commonwealth.
27      (b)   The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall include [such
28   statement in his] the statement under subsection (a) in the
29   publication of a proposed constitutional amendment as required
30   by Article XI of the Constitution of Pennsylvania.

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 1      (c)   The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall certify [such
 2   statement] the statement under subsection (a) to the county
 3   boards of elections who shall publish [such] the statement as a
 4   part of the notice of elections required by section 1201 or any
 5   other provision of this act.
 6      (d)   The county board of elections shall also require that at
 7   least three copies of [such statement] the statement under
 8   subsection (a) be posted in or about the voting room outside the
 9   enclosed space with the specimen ballots and other instructions
10   and notices of penalties.
11      (e)   In election questions which affect only one county or
12   portion thereof, the county board of elections shall fulfill
13   these requirements in the place of the [Attorney General]
14   Legislative Reference Bureau and the Secretary of the
15   Commonwealth.
16      Section 2.   The act is amended by adding a section to read:
17      Section 201.2.   Wording of Ballot Question.--Unless the
18   General Assembly prescribes otherwise with respect to a
19   particular proposed amendment or amendments through the
20   enactment of a statute, concurrent resolution or joint
21   resolution, the Legislative Reference Bureau shall prescribe the
22   wording of the question to be posed to the electors, publish the
23   wording of the question in the next available issue of the
24   Pennsylvania Bulletin and transmit the wording of the question
25   to the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
26      Section 3.   Sections 605, 1003(g), 1110(b) and 1201.2 of the
27   act are amended to read:
28      Section 605.   Elections on Proposed Constitutional
29   Amendments.--Unless the General Assembly shall prescribe
30   otherwise with respect to any particular proposed amendment or

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 1   amendments and the manner and time of submitting to the
 2   qualified electors of the State any proposed amendment or
 3   amendments to the Constitution for the purpose of ascertaining
 4   whether the same shall be approved by a majority of those voting
 5   thereon, the said amendment or amendments which have heretofore,
 6   or which may hereafter be proposed, and which have not been
 7   submitted to the qualified electors of the State, shall be
 8   submitted to the qualified electors of the State for the purpose
 9   aforesaid, at the first municipal or general election at which
10   such amendment or amendments may be legally submitted to the
11   electors, which election shall occur at least three months after
12   the date upon which such proposed amendment or amendments shall
13   have been agreed to for the second time by a majority of the
14   members elected to each house of the General Assembly, as
15   provided in Article Eighteen, section one of the Constitution.
16   Said election shall be conducted on said election day in the
17   manner prescribed by the provisions of this act. Such proposed
18   constitutional amendments shall be printed on the ballots or
19   ballot labels in brief form to be determined by the Secretary of
20   the Commonwealth with the approval of the Attorney General. The
21   wording of the question shall be as prescribed under section
22   201.2.
23      Section 1003.   Form of Official Election Ballot.--
24      * * *
25      (g)   The official ballots shall vary in form only as the
26   names of districts, offices, candidates or the provisions of
27   this act may require. When constitutional amendments or other
28   questions are submitted to a vote of the electors, each
29   amendment or other question so submitted may be printed upon the
30   ballot below the groups of candidates for the various offices,

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 1   and, when required by law, shall be so printed. Constitutional
 2   amendments so submitted shall be printed in brief form, to be
 3   determined by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and as
 4   prescribed under section 201.2, and other questions so submitted
 5   shall be printed in brief form, to be determined by the
 6   Secretary of the Commonwealth in the case of questions to be
 7   voted on by the electors of the State at large and as prescribed
 8   under section 201.2, and by the county boards in other cases. To
 9   the right of each question there shall be placed the words "yes"
10   and "no," together with appropriate squares to the right of each
11   for the convenient insertion of a cross mark.
12      Section 1110.   Form of Ballot Labels on Voting Machines.--
13      * * *
14      (b)   If the construction of the machine shall require it, the
15   ballot label for each candidate, group of candidates, political
16   party, or question, to be voted on, shall bear the designating
17   letter or number of the counter on the voting machine which will
18   register or record votes therefor. Each question to be voted on
19   shall appear on the ballot labels, in brief form, of not more
20   than seventy-five words, to be determined by the Secretary of
21   the Commonwealth in the case of constitutional amendments or
22   other questions to be voted on by the electors of the State at
23   large and as prescribed under section 201.2, and by the county
24   election board in other cases.
25      * * *
26      Section 1201.2.   Publishing Constitutional Amendments.--(a)
27   In accordance with the requirements of section 1 of Article XI
28   of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, the Secretary of the
29   Commonwealth shall cause to have published in the manner
30   prescribed all proposed amendments to the Constitution of

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 1   Pennsylvania. A publication under this subsection shall also
 2   include the wording of the ballot question transmitted to the
 3   Secretary of the Commonwealth under section 201.2.
 4      (b)   Whenever a proposed constitutional amendment or other
 5   State-wide ballot question is submitted to the electors of the
 6   Commonwealth in referendum, the Secretary of the Commonwealth
 7   shall cause the explanation of the ballot question transmitted
 8   to the Secretary of the Commonwealth under section 201.1 to be
 9   included with the publication under subsection (a).
10      (c)   As much of the money, from time to time, in the General
11   Fund as shall be deemed necessary by the Governor is hereby
12   appropriated to the Department of State to pay the costs of
13   [such] publications under this section.
14      Section 4.   This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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