Image CreditPennsylvania Capitol Complex, Harrisburg, Penn./Beth Brelje/The Federalist

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro got mixed reviews in September 2023 when he announced Pennsylvania had implemented automatic voter registration for “eligible Commonwealth residents obtaining driver’s licenses and ID cards at Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) driver and photo license centers.”

Before Shapiro switched to automatic voter registration, anyone getting a driver’s license was given the option to register to vote. But now all applying for driver’s licenses are automatically registered and must opt out if they don’t want to be — or cannot be — registered to vote.  

Opponents of the move worried that people who are not eligible to vote, such as those who are not citizens of the United States, would not opt out and would be registered anyway.

In Pennsylvania, at least 628,234 noncitizens had a state driver’s license or a non-driver’s license photo identification, according to a Right-to-Know request response obtained by Heather Honey, executive director of the Election Research Institute and co-founder of Verity Vote.

Now an investigation has been announced to look at how the state is keeping illegal voters from registering in the process of getting a driver’s license.

Audit Timing

Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor, a Republican, sent a letter Monday to PennDOT Secretary Michael Carroll and Neil Weaver, secretary of the Governor’s Office of Administration, informing them that the auditor’s office will be conducting a performance audit of the motor voter registration process.

The audit will look at the automatic voter registration system covering the period between Jan. 1 and June 30.

Specifically, it will look at the implementation of the program, its compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, and how it relates to the state election code. The audit will also “determine whether PennDOT’s Motor Voter interface files sent to the Pennsylvania Department of State properly excluded non-citizens.”

It is unlikely the audit’s results will influence the 2024 election. DeFoor set a deadline of Oct. 4 for a meeting to be held between PennDOT and the auditor. Draft notes and audit information are not made public. PennDOT will have 120 business days to submit a response to the audit. The election is less than 50 days away.

Language Barrier

When someone gets a driver’s license in Pennsylvania, he stands at a computer screen and taps in a few answers. One screen shows the heading “Applying for voter registration,” and it asks, “Are you a citizen of the United States?”

The options are: Press one for yes; Press two for no.

Those who answer no are taken to the next screen with this title: “Cancel your new or updated voter registration application.”

“You have selected the option to cancel your new or updated voter application. Are you sure you want to cancel? Press one for yes; Press two for no.”

Anyone who has filled out a government form knows it can be tricky. Everyone wants to answer precisely.

Individuals with a language barrier could be confused. They don’t want to cancel their driver’s license. Because they didn’t ask to sign up to vote, but the computer is offering it, some may think they are eligible to vote.

The Federalist asked PennDOT for a comment for this story, including whether it intends to cooperate with the audit, and whether it believes the audit will find any noncitizens are registered to vote, but received no response.

Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.