Pennsylvania Supreme Court considering challenge to Department of State's interpretation of voter registration laws
Should voter registration applications be rejected if voters’ personal information doesn’t match government databases?
The Pennsylvania Department of State said in 2018 that the answer should be no. But in a case currently pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Potter County Commissioner Robert Rossman is arguing the department is misinterpreting the law.
If Rossman’s challenge is successful, it could result in more voter applications being rejected.
In 2018, the Department of State issued a directive stating that, based on state and federal law, counties can’t reject voter applications solely because the driver’s license number or last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number don’t match state or federal databases, as could happen if the voter makes a mistake when filling out the application.
https://www.votebeat.org/pennsylvania/2026/04/23/department-of-state-directive-robert-rossman-rite-lawsuit-state-supreme-court/