From the Legal Hotline

By Teri Henning, General Counsel; Melissa Melewsky, Media Law Counsel
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association

Q: What voter information is public?

A: Under Pennsylvania law, the following documents are generally public:

(1) Records of a registration commission and district registers.

(2) Street lists.

(3) Official voter registration applications.

(4) Petitions and appeals.

(5) Witness lists.

(6) Accounts and contracts.

(7) Reports.

25 Pa.C.S. §1207; 25 Pa.C.S. §1401 et seq.

Under the statute, these documents may be inspected during ordinary business hours. Public inspection shall be in the presence of an authorized commission employee and shall be subject to proper regulation for safekeeping of the material. You are entitled to copies of the records at cost. The material may not be used for commercial or improper purposes.

Street lists include the names and addresses of all registered electors residing in the district. Public information lists contain the name, address, date of birth and voting history of each registered voter in the county, and they may also contain information on voting districts. Before inspecting a street list or public information list, an individual must provide identification to the public official having custody of the information and must state in writing that any information obtained from the list will not be used for purposes unrelated to elections, political activities or law enforcement. 25 Pa.C.S. §§1403 and 1404.

For Department of State regulations relating to street lists: [CLICK HERE]

For Department of State regulations relating to public information lists: [CLICK HERE]

The records can be obtained from:

1. The Department of State; Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation at
210 North Office Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
(717) 787-5280

or;

2. From individual County Voter Registration Commissions. The Department of State maintains a contact list for each county’s voter and election officials: [CLICK HERE]

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