Al Schmidt was appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth by Gov. Josh Shapiro on Jan. 17, 2023. Pennsylvania's Department of State oversees elections across the state.
Commonwealth Media Services
To be more transparent, Pennsylvania’s top election official holds daily briefings ahead of primary
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Ben Wasserstein/WITF
Commonwealth Media Services
Al Schmidt was appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth by Gov. Josh Shapiro on Jan. 17, 2023. Pennsylvania's Department of State oversees elections across the state.
In 2020, Pennsylvania was at the forefront of a significant effort to undermine trust in the election process.
Four years later and ahead of the April 23 primary, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt is holding daily updates streamed live across Facebook and PAcast as part of the administration’s attempts to ensure a safe and secure election.
His first was held Monday.
The Department of State, which handles statewide elections, is committed to be transparent throughout the process, Schmidt said.
“The more Pennsylvanians understand about all the work that goes into safeguarding our elections, the more confident they can feel in the process,” he said.
April 16 is the last day to request a mail ballot. Schmidt said nearly 250,000 mail ballots have been returned to county election offices.
He also noted counties are performing logic and accuracy testing on their voting systems.
“These tests ensure voting systems are working properly and correctly recording voters’ selections in each race,” he said.
In late February, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced the formation of the Pennsylvania Election Threat Task Force. Schmidt said that team has been meeting regularly.
In next week’s primary, Democrats and Republicans will select nominees for president, U.S. Senate, every member of both the state and U.S. House, state attorney general, state auditor general, state treasurer and state Senate seats in odd numbered districts.
Voters can also pick delegates to their party’s national convention.
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