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Read. Follow. Verify.Pennsylvania House Bill 735 alters candidate ballot placement rules and mandates a ballot order randomization study
Last action · February 25, 2025: Referred to STATE GOVERNMENT, Feb. 25, 2025Sponsors: Jared Solomon and 6 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Pennsylvania House Bill 735 alters how candidate names are ordered on primary and general election ballots by requiring a lottery and county-by-county rotation instead of ordering candidates by party vote totals or alphabetical lists. The measure also repeals straight-party voting columns on paper ballots and directs the Pennsylvania Election Law Advisory Board to study precinct-level ballot rotation feasibility within six months of the law taking effect in 60 days.
Changes the visual placement of candidates on every voting machine and paper ballot across the state, which alters how easily voters locate specific candidates and potentially impacts election outcomes influenced by ballot position bias.
- The Pennsylvania Election Code governs the administration of primaries, general elections, ballot formats, and candidate nominations across the Commonwealth. context
- The Pennsylvania Election Law Advisory Board reviews election procedures and recommends statutory improvements to the General Assembly. 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.
Candidates
Candidates face a new lottery and county rotation system to determine their position on primary and general election ballots instead of previous party-vote or alphabetical ordering rules.
County boards of elections
County boards must fix days for casting lots, provide two days' notice to candidates, appoint representatives for absentees, and format ballots according to the new rotation rules.
Voters
Voters will see candidate names arranged by a lottery and rotation method rather than traditional party lines or straight-party columns on paper ballots.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
How will candidate names be ordered on the ballot under this bill?
Does this bill eliminate straight-party voting on paper ballots?
What is required of the Pennsylvania Election Law Advisory Board?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Feb 25, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to STATE GOVERNMENT, Feb. 25, 2025
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →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.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transition from Party-Based to Randomized Ballot Ordering
The bill shifts Pennsylvania election administration away from traditional party-vote and alphabetical sorting toward a randomized lottery and county rotation system.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.palegis.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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