HARRISBURG, PA – July 17, 2026 − Yesterday, President Donald Trump took an extraordinary step in his years-long effort to undermine confidence in U.S. elections by delivering a prime-time speech disparaging U.S. election officials, making baseless allegations of Chinese interference, and proposing a radical policy of voter disenfranchisement.
Since 2020, President Trump and Pennsylvania Senate Republicans have issued subpoenas, used multiple commissions, and joined countless lawsuits in an attempt to gain access to confidential, sensitive voter information on Pennsylvania’s voter rolls, manipulate the interpretation of our election laws, and block the counting of valid ballots. All this despite the complete lack of any evidence of widespread voter fraud. Trump’s singular focus on overturning the audited and certified results of the 2020 presidential election resulted in a monumental waste of time and resources.
In the face of a court-wide push by Republicans at all levels to gain access to protected voter information, Senate Democrats and Governor Shapiro stood firmly on the side of Pennsylvania voters, successfully protecting the personal information of 9 million voters from the Trump administration and unlawfully using legislative power to obtain it. Pennsylvania Senate Democrats strongly supported additional legislative efforts to ensure all qualified Pennsylvania voters have access to the ballot, including voter registration, electronic voter records, pre-screening of mailed ballots, notifications to Pennsylvanians 18 years of age and older, and ballot drop boxes.
Senate Democrats praised Governor Shapiro and Secretary Al Schmidt’s executive actions to improve ballot access, including redesigning absentee ballots to reduce confusion and implementing an automatic voter registration program at PennDOT Driver License and Vehicle Centers.
Together, Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa AND Democratic State Government Senate Committee Chairman Steve Santarsiero In response to President Trump’s speech yesterday, we make the following statement:
“President Trump’s despicable attempts to once again destroy the public’s faith in our election systems are hazardous, terrifying, disgusting and disgraceful. Pennsylvania’s elections undergo exacting audits to ensure our systems are fair, free, secure. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt and the thousands of incredible election workers who make sure our voices are heard work challenging to faithfully enforce our laws so that every eligible Pennsylvanian can cast their ballot without fear of intimidation or unnecessary barriers, and it is downright unacceptable for President Trump to demonize their work on national television for his own gain.
“As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American experiment, Senate Democrats are more committed than ever to protecting Pennsylvanians from the unlawful abuse of power by Trump’s dogs and ensuring that all voters can freely exercise their fundamental right to vote in free and equal elections for the leaders of their choice without this continued interference. We cannot sit idly by and allow an aspiring dictator to permanently rig our elections and destroy our hard-won freedom to vote.”
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