Black Political Empowerment Project v. Aichele (Pennsylvania)

On July 5, 2012, Project Vote and its partners filed a Complaint against Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele, Secretary of Public Welfare Gary Alexander, and Secretary of Health Dr. Eli Avila in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Complaint alleges that the state has systematically failed to comply with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Since its 1993 enactment, the NVRA has helped ensure that low-income citizens receive an opportunity to register to vote by mandating that all public assistance agencies offer voter registration services.

Plaintiffs include the Black Political Empowerment Project and ACTION United, both of whom conduct voter registration activities in the state. They are represented by Demos, Project Vote, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the law firm Hogan Lovells.

Based on Pennsylvania’s own submissions to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the number of voter registration applications submitted at Pennsylvania public assistance offices has decreased by a staggering 93% in recent years, from 59,462 in 1995-1996 to just 4,179 in 2009-2010. This steep decline in voter registrations is particularly significant because it occurred during the same period that the number of initial food stamp application in Pennsylvania nearly doubled, from 1,015,968 in 1995-1996 to 1,814,000 in 2009-2010.

The factual allegations in the Complaint show that fault for this reduction lies with the state. Indeed, in surveys of public assistance clients conducted in the months before the complaint was filed, 50% of those who had requested in writing to receive a voter registration application were not provided with one. Thirteen of seventeen offices visited did not have signs informing people that they could register to vote, and two of the offices had no voter registration applications at all. As a result of the state’s failures, the Plaintiffs are forced to expend resources helping to register citizens who would otherwise be registered by the state.

The parties settled this case in August, 2012. The defendants agreed to distribute voter registration applications as required by the National Voter Registration Act, including when persons do not answer the question asking whether they want to register to vote, and during transactions that occur via remote means, such as online or via telephone. The defendants also agreed, among other things, to update their policies and training materials to reflect these changes; to update any agency forms not in compliance with the NVRA; to track and analyze various data points that will allow the defendants to monitor compliance at agency offices; and to designate NVRA coordinators.