It was a good day for the free world.

“All voters have the right to vote without being subjected to intimidation, harassment, or discriminatory conduct.”

“Ensuring that our elections are conducted freely and fairly — and that every eligible voter can make their voice heard — is a top priority of the Governor Josh Shapiro Administration.” Watch yesterday’s PA Department of State livestream recording: pacast.com/m?p=25784

Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt provides a virtual update ahead of the April 23 primary election. twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

“It’s important that we do our part to make sure that voters have confidence that [elections] have never been more safe and secure than they are now.”

I’ve really enjoyed doing these daily updates and think they’re worth watching, especially if you’re interested in election administration. My county visits resume tomorrow, so I’ll be live streaming these updates from the road somewhere in Western PA.

Pennsylvania’s Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) process has built-in protections that enable only U.S. citizens to apply to register to vote. Learn more about AVR and elections in PA by visiting our fact-checking webpage: vote.pa.gov/About-Election…

“Mail ballot fraud is exceptionally rare, and there is no evidence of widespread issues that would change the outcome of any Pennsylvania election.” How Pa. secures mail ballots, prevents fraud, and more by Carter Walker at Votebeat. votebeat.org/pennsylvania/2…

“[We are] committed to transparency in our electoral process, and these daily updates are part of that effort…The more Pennsylvanians understand about all the work that goes into safeguarding our elections the more confident they can feel in the process.” penncapital-star.com/briefs/pennsyl…

Per Al Schmidt, as of April 8th, there were 8.8 million registered voters in PA ahead of next week's primary.

As of this morning, more than 876,000 of those voters requested & were approved to receive a mail-in-ballot.

~250,000 of those ballots have already been returned.

Quick reminder: TOMORROW (16 April) by 5pm is the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot for the 2024 Primary in Pennsylvania. If you’re a registered voter and you’d like to vote by mail, please don’t wait and apply right now at vote.pa.gov

Thank you Philadelphia City Commissioners for making in-person mail-in ballot voting so accessible and secure. I was able to apply for my ballot, receive it, and return it to a board of elections drop box in a matter of minutes.

Schmidt noted that in recent years we’ve seen “how easily misinformation has been spread using far more primitive methods than AI — tweets and Facebook posts with no video/audio. So AI presents a far greater challenge if it’s weaponized to deceive voters.” inquirer.com/politics/elect…

Important findings and recommendations from Bipartisan Policy Center on the high turnover rates of election officials across the country. I’ve been concerned about this issue since 2020 and am grateful for BCP’s work on it. bipartisanpolicy.org/download/?file…

“Elections have changed a lot in the last several years and they’ve changed for the better. They’ve never been more safe & secure and [paper ballots] are used in - not one, but two - audits after every election to ensure that the numbers add up and that the results are accurate.”

“This isn’t something we should be dreading. The functioning of our democracy is something we should be embracing…everyone involved in elections is focused on their job, which is a sacred responsibility and it’s counting voters’ votes.” Action News on 6abc 6abc.com/secretary-of-t…

Voted. ✅ 🗳️

Get off the sidelines and get in the game – be sure to register tomorrow before the deadline and make a plan to vote in the primary election.

Get more information here: vote.pa.gov

“Pennsylvania is truly fortunate to have such dedicated county election staff who are committed to ensuring that every eligible voter can cast their ballot and make their voice heard in every election.” From my op-ed in the Erie Times-News. GoErie goerie.com/story/opinion/…

Pennsylvania's primary election is on Tuesday, April 23, which coincides with the first full day of Passover. Secretary Schmidt spoke with members of Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El (Beth Hillel-Beth El) in Montgomery County as part of the Department of State's outreach efforts to make sure that

“At the end of the day, it’s really our counties that run elections in Pennsylvania, not the [PA] Department of State,” said Schmidt. “So it’s worth the effort to take the time to meet with the election directors in every county.” lewistownsentinel.com/news/local-new…