Grove: Shapiro Must Follow Supreme Court Ruling by Stopping “Automatic Voter Registration” on Vehicle Registrations

HARRISBURG - Sixty-three members of the House Republican Caucus, including State Rep. Seth Grove (R - York), sent a letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro alerting him to a recent Supreme Court decision which questioned the legality of PennDOT's "automatic voter registration" program for vehicle registration.

"Since Gov. Shapiro announced all PennDOT interactions - not just legally authorized driver license renewals - will include automatic voter registration, Republicans have been deeply concerned with its administration and legal rationale," Grove emphasized. "The majority of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agrees with some of our concerns and shared this in a recent ruling. The Governor must act swiftly to halt this program and contact all voters whose voting address may have been updated by PennDOT."

The majority opinion of the case IN RE: CANVASS OF PROVIS. BALLOTS; APPEAL OF WALSH - NO. 55 MAP 2024 said in part:

Any administrative decision by PennDOT or the Pennsylvania Department of State to transfer an elector's voter registration without that person's affirmative consent in conjunction with a PennDOT application to change a vehicle registration, as opposed to a driver's license, is therefore of questionable validity, particularly where, as here, no party has identified a valid administrative regulation authorizing such action.

Justice Wecht, a Democrat, in a concurring opinion, went on to say:

The Pennsylvania Voter Registration Act provides several methods of voter registration, none of which is tied to the application or renewal of a vehicle registration. To the extent PennDOT has taken it upon itself to transform a vehicle registration renewal into a change in voter registration, it appears to have done so in the absence of any legislative directive. Although PennDOT's rogue transfer of voter registration in this case ultimately did not deprive O'Donnell of the right to vote, it would be troubling if PennDOT has a practice of making such a transfer without statutory authorization, or even the voter's consent.

"Our letter sent to Gov. Shapiro provides suggestions on how he can remedy his mistake and stand up for enfranchisement over disenfranchisement of Pennsylvania voters," Grove added. "Failure to address this will likely lead to misinformation and disinformation surrounding our elections; we're calling on the Governor to step up and do the right thing."

A copy of the letter can be viewed here.

Representative Seth Grove
196th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Charlie O'Neill
717.260.6121
[email protected]
RepGrove.com / Facebook.com/RepSethGrove

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