HB 37 Pennsylvania House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

An Act amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, in voting by qualified absentee electors, further providing for canvassing of official absentee ballots and mail-in ballots; and, in Election Integrity Grant Program, further providing for funding for elections.

HB 37 modifies Pennsylvania's Election Code to change how counties process absentee and mail-in ballots. It requires county election boards to pre-canvass all such ballots received before election day at least seven days prior, with 48-hour public notice posted online. The bill also mandates that counties begin reviewing ballots at 7 a.m. on election day without interruption until all ballots received by that time are processed. These changes directly affect county election offices, candidates, and voters who use absentee or mail-in ballots, while aligning with funding requirements for the Election Integrity Grant Program.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Jun 2026
House Passage
Jun 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 10, 2025 Last action Jun 18, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Printer's No. PN0016 Printer's No. PN3191 · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was updated to include a new co-sponsor, Green, and to reflect that it has been reported from committee with amendments. The core substantive change involves modifying the timeline for pre-canvassing absentee and mail-in ballots, shifting the requirement from a specific start time to a deadline-based approach to ensure all timely ballots are processed before the meeting.
Scope change
The bill's scope of applicability remains the same, but the operational requirements for county election boards have been adjusted to clarify the pre-canvassing window.
TIMELINE

Changed the requirement for county boards of elections to meet no earlier than seven days prior to election day to pre-canvass ballots, replacing the previous instruction to begin pre-canvassing at 7 a.m. on election day.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the grant agreement requirements to mandate that counties begin pre-canvassing no later than 7 a.m. on election day and continue until all timely received ballots are processed.

TECHNICAL

Added Green as a co-sponsor to the bill.

Updated the bill number in the header from PN 0016 to PN 3191 to reflect the latest version.

Floor votes · House Jun 9, 2026

How they voted

10398
Passed
Total votes 201
Jun 9, 2026
D Democratic102
102 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican99
1 Yea 98 Nay
98% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
10
Key actions
3
Committee
4
Amendments
1
Jun 18, 2026
Committee
Referred to State Government
upper
Jun 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third consideration and final passage
lower
Jun 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Re-reported as committed
lower
Jun 8, 2026
Committee
Re-committed to Appropriations
lower
Apr 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported as amended
lower
Jan 10, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Government
lower
1 primary · 22 co-sponsors

Sponsors