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Al Schmidt: “Right now you can show up at your board of elections office…”

Featuring: Al Schmidt, Republican | Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead

Published July 31, 2026 | Video Starts at 39:21

And I've testified in front of our House and our Senate in favor of having a much more accessible version of early voting in Pennsylvania. As you know, Right now you can show up at your board of elections office, you can apply in person, they can approve it. If it's approved, they give you the ballot, you get the ballot. If you can fill it out, you can return it. (39:21–39:29)

CLAIM

Describes the current process for early voting in Pennsylvania.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Al Schmidt

“The percentage of registrations coming to the counties from PennDOT has increased by 125% since we implemented AVR in 2023.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 22:19-22:31
“The percentage of new vote applications for new voters has increased by 55% since we implemented voter registration.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 22:47-22:56
“I serve in the Shapiro administration as Secretary of State for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 04:33-04:38
“I worked at the Government Accountability Office in Washington, D.C. to make sure that public services were delivered efficiently…”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 05:10-05:22
“Our representative democracy depends on the citizenry being represented.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 09:17-09:25
“When the citizenry does not participate, they are not represented and less likely to receive services that only, only government can…”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 09:24-09:36
“It is important that government gets things done so that we can build and rebuild and strengthen confidence in our system of government.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 09:43-09:52
“It's really our job at the Pennsylvania Department of State to maximize access, to maximize opportunities for people to vote.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 20:40-20:49
“The ones with the lowest turnout are the ones that affect our everyday lives the most.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 20:56-21:01
“The Shapiro administration implemented automatic voter registration in Pennsylvania in 2023.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 21:53-22:04
“The number of people voting has continued to increase since AVR, even though the percentage actually went up in 2024.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 23:20-23:30
“Voters still have the opportunity to opt out [of automatic voter registration] at PennDOT.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 24:38-24:46
“Once they're [at PennDOT], they've shown all their identity, like there's no question about that or eligibility, age or all the rest to…”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 25:13-25:22
“I've testified in front of our House and our Senate in favor of having a much more accessible version of early voting in Pennsylvania.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 39:09-39:21
“It's the most labor intensive, costly, clumsy, frustrating experience for voters when they hear Pennsylvania has early voting.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 39:33-39:46
“In other states that has been shown to improve turnout, especially among voters who are the least likely to vote.”
The Participation Gap Panel | The Promise of Democracy Summit: 250 Years and the Path Ahead | Uploaded July 31, 2026 | 39:55-40:03