The civic record

Read. Follow. Verify.

HB 771PENNSYLVANIASession 2025-2026State Billon floor

High Impact

Pennsylvania House Bill 771 Re-evaluates Voter Identification Rules and Absentee Ballot Verification

Original title: An Act amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, in preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions; in the Secretary of the Commonwealth, further providing for requirements relating to voter identification; in preparation for and conduct of primaries and elections, further providing for manner of applying to vote, persons entitled to vote, voter's certificates, entries to be made in district register, numbered lists of voters and challenges; and, in voting by qualified absentee electors, further providing for canvassing of official absentee ballots and mail-in ballots.

Last action · May 12, 2025: Re-committed to APPROPRIATIONS, May 12, 2025Sponsors: Tom Mehaffie and 10 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

What This Bill Would Do

Pennsylvania House Bill 771 updates voter identification requirements for in-person and mail-in voting, expands acceptable forms of identification, and establishes new procedures for notifying voters of missing ID with a verification deadline of the sixth day following an election. The legislation takes effect on January 1, 2027, and applies to elections held from that primary election onward.

Why it matters

The bill alters the documentary standards and provisional voting options required for in-person voters and sets a strict six-day post-election window for absentee and mail-in voters to cure unverified identification.

Background

The Pennsylvania Election Code governs all aspects of voting, voter registration, and election administration throughout the Commonwealth. context
House Bill 771 was introduced during the 2025-2026 legislative session by Representative Mehaffie and re-committed to the House Appropriations Committee in May 2025. context

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Registered electors in Pennsylvania

Voters must adhere to revised photo and non-photo identification requirements when casting in-person ballots and follow new cure procedures for mail-in voting.

Directly affected

County boards of elections

Boards must examine new categories of identification, process affirmation forms, notify voters within 24 hours of missing ID, and canvass ballots based on the sixth-day deadline.

Key Facts

The bill amends the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code.
For in-person voting, accepted photo identification includes Commonwealth-issued driver's licenses or IDs, federal or tribal documents, armed forces cards, county or municipal documents, firearm permits, student IDs, and employee IDs.
Electors lacking photo ID may present alternative documents such as non-photo Commonwealth IDs, government-issued documents, care facility documents, utility bills, bank statements, paystubs, government checks, insurance documents, tax filings, higher education transcripts, mortgage documents, or residential leases.
An elector unable to provide standard identification may use a qualified elector voucher who signs an affirmation, or complete an affirmation form prescribed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Show all 7 facts

County boards of elections must notify voters within 24 hours of unverified or missing proof of identification for absentee or mail-in ballots via email, telephone, or text message.
Absentee and mail-in ballots with missing identification will not be counted if the elector fails to provide verifiable proof by the sixth calendar day following the election.
The legislation does not apply to elections held prior to the 2027 primary election and takes effect on January 1, 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I arrive at my polling place without a photo ID?

You may present alternative non-photo identification such as a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or lease. If you have no ID, you may use a qualified elector voucher or complete an affirmation form prescribed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth to cast your ballot.

What is the deadline to fix a missing ID on an absentee or mail-in ballot?

The county board of elections must notify you within 24 hours of finding missing identification, and you must provide verifiable proof of identification by the sixth calendar day following the election for the ballot to be counted.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Currently on floor. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Passed.

Procedural history

7 actions

May 12, 2025House
Re-committed to APPROPRIATIONS, May 12, 2025
May 12, 2025HouseFloor
Second consideration, May 12, 2025
May 7, 2025House
Removed from table, May 7, 2025
May 6, 2025House
Laid on the table, May 6, 2025
May 6, 2025HouseIntroduced
First consideration, May 6, 2025
May 6, 2025House
Reported as amended, May 6, 2025

Show 1 earlier action

Mar 17, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to STATE GOVERNMENT, March 17, 2025

Version history & redline

2 versions on file

Comparing Printer's No. 0991 → Printer's No. 1624

removed addedOfficial text

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 991 PRINTER'S NO. 1624 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL No. 771 Session of 2025 INTRODUCED BY MEHAFFIE, BURNS, GAYDOS, GREINER, KOZAK, KUZMA, LABS, M. MACKENZIE, NEILSON, PICKETT, PUGH, STAATS STAATS, TOMLINSON AND TOMLINSON, MENTZER, MARCH 17, 2025 REFERRED TO AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 17, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, MAY 6, 2025 AN ACT Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled "An act concerning elections, including general, municipal, special and primary elections, […] of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, are amended to read: Section 102. Definitions.--The following words, when used in<--

Redline computed from the official version text (record lane).View this version →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift98% confidence

Expansion of Accepted Alternative Voter Identification

The bill replaces previous restrictive language with a comprehensive list of accepted non-photo identification documents, including utility bills, bank statements, leases, and paystubs.

Pennsylvania Election Code Secretary of the Commonwealth

Connected Entities

Department of Transportation, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania Election Code and 1 more

OrganizationDepartment of Transportation“Issuer of driver's licenses and identification cards”Map →

OrganizationSecretary of the Commonwealth“Required to prescribe affirmation forms and disseminate information regarding pr”Map →

otherPennsylvania Election Code“Act of June 3, 1937 being amended by the bill”Map →

OrganizationPennsylvania National Guard“Source of armed forces identification documents”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.palegis.us

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance75
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy65
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz40
Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools