A group of 24 Republican legislators in Pennsylvania have filed a federal complaint against President Joe Biden, Gov. Josh Shapiro, and representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of State, saying they have usurped the authority of the legislature by changing voter registration and election rules.
Their complaint in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania asks a judge to declare three actions unconstitutional: a voter registration executive order made by President Biden; a voter registration action by Mr. Shapiro, and some Department of State directives.
In 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14019 for "Promoting access to voting," requiring all federal agencies to develop a plan to increase voter registration and participation.
"Such voter registration activities may include making available voter registration materials to patients, encouraging patients to register to vote, assisting patients with completing registration forms, sending completed forms to the election authorities, providing voter registration materials in waiting rooms, and allowing private, non-partisan organizations to conduct on-site voter registration," the HHS website says.
"Federal campaign finance laws apply to private parties' voter registration activities. Voter registration drives are a federally recognized private function, not a government function."
Shapiro's Automatic Voter Registration In September 2023, Mr. Shapiro announced in a press release that he was changing voter registration laws by enacting automatic voter registration.
The changes to the voter registration process through the Department of Transportation in September have resulted in a 44 percent increase in new voter registrations over the same time period two years ago, and are "Consistent with both the National Voter Registration Act and Pennsylvania law," the DOS said.
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