As Pennsylvania looks back on one special election and prepares for three more, state Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) is asking for legislative support for his proposal to modernize the special election process.

With just six days remaining until three Allegheny County special elections that could tilt the majority in the state House, Rabb seeks to change the process by making special elections for state and municipal offices nonpartisan and more accessible to both candidates and voters.

“It’s time to rethink the system that got us here. We must invest in a process that is more transparent, accountable, inclusive, efficient and less costly to taxpayers,” Rabb said.

His legislation’s key provisions include:

• Requiring that special elections happen sooner when a seat becomes vacant more than 90 days before the next election.
• Requiring automatic mail-in voting for all elections while providing county boards of election with the option to establish satellite voting sites.
• Subsidizing special elections from restitution paid by elected officials who have vacated their seats because of a felony conviction.
• Allowing candidates to electronically obtain nomination petition signatures.

Rabb said he believes as more people choose to register as independent instead of with the two major parties in a state that prohibits independent voters from participating in primary elections, his legislation would help open the first of several vital avenues of political expression for the more than 1 million Pennsylvania voters who are otherwise rendered second-class members of the electorate.

Republican lawmakers have not shown any inclination to address voting issues beyond voter ID in the early days of the 2023-24 session. That resolution was rolled into Senate Bill 1 – a series of constitutional amendments that awaits House approval.