Politics

Officials Agree To Remove Dead People From Voting Lists In Pennsylvania

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Ashley Carnahan Contributor
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Pennsylvania Department of State officials reached an agreement with an election-integrity group to remove dead people from voting lists in the state, according to The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF).

PILF first filed the lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of State on November 5, 2020, for “failing to reasonably maintain voter registration records under federal and state law,” according to a press release.

“[A]as of October 7, 2020, at least 9,212 registrants have been dead for at least five years, at least 1,990 registrants have been dead for at least ten years, and at least 197 registrants have been dead for at least twenty years … Pennsylvania still left the names of more than 21,000 dead individuals on the voter rolls less than a month before one of the most consequential general elections for federal officeholders in many years,” the press release read.(RELATED: ‘Come Back To Haunt’: Pennsylvania Lawsuit Alleges 21,000 Dead People Still On Voter Rolls)

Nearly five months after the lawsuit was filed, Pennsylvania officials have agreed to compare the names of deceased voters to a voter registration database and remove their names if, in fact, they are “ineligible to vote due to their death.”

Another settlement reached in the lawsuit was that each county commission would be given the names of the deceased individuals and “inform the commissions that they should promptly cancel the registrations,” according to an April 7 press release from PILF. While the November lawsuit alleged that there were more than 21,000 dead people on voter rolls, no specific number was reached for removal in the settlement.

The revisions will take place before the 2021 statewide general election.

“This marks an important victory for the integrity of elections in Pennsylvania,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “The Commonwealth’s failure to remove deceased registrants created a vast opportunity for voter fraud and abuse. It is important to not have dead voters active on the rolls for 5, 10, or even 20 years. This settlement fixes that.”