The Pennsylvania Department of State maintains the necessary partnerships and infrastructure to ensure the security of elections in the Commonwealth and stay vigilant against potential threats to the democratic process.

Frequently asked questions

How can I trust that only eligible Pennsylvania voters are registered?

Applicants must meet all registration requirements and must affirm–under penalty of perjury–that they meet these requirements before they are registered to vote, with any false statements subjecting them to the possibility of prison time and a fine.

Pennsylvanians applying for a new or updated driver’s license or state ID at a PennDOT center must provide documentation confirming their age, residency, and citizenship status. Anyone who provides documentation indicating they are not a citizen is never presented with the opportunity to register to vote through PennDOT.

Pennsylvanians who apply to register through all other means (for example, online or on paper) must also provide proof of identification at some point prior to ever having their vote count pursuant to Pennsylvania law.   

How does Pennsylvania ensure people vote only once in an election?

Several layers of protection are built into the process of ensuring each eligible voter successfully casts only one ballot per election.

For example, mail ballot envelopes have unique barcodes that are scanned when received, assuring that only one ballot is counted per voter.

In addition, poll books identify voters who have already received their mail ballot so poll workers on Election Day know who may vote in person at the polls. 

What prevents hackers from accessing voting machines and changing votes?

Voting systems are never connected to the internet, and every vote cast on a voting machine is recorded on a user-verifiable paper ballot. There are multiple layers of defenses to prevent hackers from accessing voting systems. For example, voting systems are kept in secured facilities that can be accessed only by authorized elections personnel. Additionally, the reliability of every voting system is affirmed through Logic & Accuracy testing before every election which is open to the public.

Why don’t we know final results on election night?

Counting the hundreds of thousands – sometimes millions – of mail ballots cast in every election takes time. Unlike other states, state law in Pennsylvania prevents counties from even beginning to open ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day – when those same election officials are managing in-person voting at more than 9,100 polling places.

That law can only be changed if the Pennsylvania legislature sends a bill to the Governor’s desk to allow counties to open mail ballot envelopes, flatten the ballots, and prepare them to be tallied BEFORE Election Day as most other states already allow.

While we know there may be an eagerness to predict the outcomes, counties are prioritizing accuracy and security as they count ballots.

How does Pennsylvania make sure votes were counted correctly?

Starting on the Friday after Election Day, all 67 county boards of elections publicly begin the official computation of election returns. This process includes several reconciliation procedures, including comparing the number of registered voters with the number of ballots cast and opening and checking the reported votes cast from each election district.  

In addition, counties conduct two different types of audits after every election to ensure the reported election outcomes are correct:

  • A 2% statistical audit required by state statute, and
  • A statewide risk-limiting audit (RLA)

Both audits occur before any results are certified.

State-of the-art voting systems

All 67 Pennsylvania counties use voting systems that both the federal government and the Department of State have certified as meeting current standards for accessibility and security, and each of the five voting systems in use across the Commonwealth produces a voter-verifiable paper record to ensure auditability and vote count accuracy.

Safe and secure electronic systems

The Department of State employs multiple best-practice strategies to ensure the security of our voter registration database and our voting systems, including:

  • 24/7 continuous network monitoring,
  • firewalls,
  • data encryption,
  • password protection,
  • multi-factor authentication,
  • independent vulnerability assessments,
  • continuous network monitoring, and
  • continuity of operations (COOP) planning.

No part of any voting system used in Pennsylvania is ever connected to or permitted on an internet-facing network.

In addition, all county election boards inspect and test voting and tabulating equipment before each election, then place locks with tamper-evident seals on all voting system access points.

Robust post-election audits

Pennsylvania counties conduct two types of post-election audits: a 2% statistical sample required by state statute (25 P.S. § 3031.17) and a statewide risk-limiting audit (RLA).

The statistical recount is of a random sample of at least 2% of the ballots cast in every county -- or 2,000 ballots, whichever is fewer.

The RLA uses statistical methods to identify a random sample of paper ballots that are compared to the vote totals reported by the counties’ voting systems. RLAs can detect election interference and can confirm the reported outcome is correct.

Both audits are conducted before the Secretary certifies any results.

Collaboration and communications

To maintain and enhance the security of our election process, the Department of State works closely with all 67 county boards of elections, as well as experts from:

  • the Pennsylvania and U.S. Departments of Homeland Security,
  • the Center for Internet Security (CIS),
  • the Pennsylvania National Guard,
  • the Pennsylvania Office of Administration (OA),
  • the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA),
  • state and county IT staff,
  • the Pennsylvania State Police,
  • the FBI, and
  • other key local, state, and federal partners.