HARRISBURG — Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor released the long-awaited performance audit of Pennsylvania’s Automatic Motor Voter System. While the findings are now public, the report leaves far more questions than answers.
Sen. Dawn Keefer (R-31) issued the following statement:
“I am deeply disappointed the full scope of my request was not completed, leaving Pennsylvanians with only partial answers after more than 20 months of waiting.
“In August 2024, I formally requested this audit to verify the Motor Voter process complies with state and federal law and safeguards against improper voter registrations. My letter specifically requested the auditor general compare PennDOT records of 628,000 non-citizens holding driver’s licenses or non-driver photo IDs against the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE System). The goal was simple: determine whether non-citizens were being inadvertently registered to vote and restore public confidence that our election system protects the votes of qualified electors.
“The lack of cooperation from the administration has forced Pennsylvanians to wait far too long for clear answers about a system that handles hundreds of thousands of voter registration applications each year. The prolonged timeline itself raises serious concerns about accountability and urgency in protecting our elections.
“Despite being implemented in September 2023, the audit examined a six-month window — Jan. 1 to June 30, 2024 — covering more than 200,000 applications. After nearly a year and a half, the auditor general concluded the system ‘works as intended’ while simultaneously identifying serious flaws. Auditor General DeFoor acknowledged a full review of all records would have taken years, yet this narrow snapshot still exposed critical vulnerabilities.
“One significant flaw is the system does not require completion of the INS designation field. As a result, a blank field allows a non-citizen to complete voter registration. The system relies on perfect upstream data entry and does not enforce a mandatory, validated citizenship flag before offering voter registration — this is a serious structural design flaw, not just ‘human error.’ In one documented case, PennDOT improperly permitted a non-U.S. citizen to register to vote because of this exact weakness. Officials acknowledged additional non-citizens may have been registered outside of the narrowly reviewed window, which is extremely concerning.
“The audit also found PennDOT and the Governor’s Office of Administration failed to implement proper user access controls. PennDOT and the Office of Administration could not demonstrate who had access to the vendor-managed system or whether it was appropriate. Existing access records are retained for only one year, creating opportunities for undetected manipulation.
“Compounding these issues, the audit determined that transferred by the vendor-managed application was of ‘undetermined reliability.’ This directly undermines the precision of the reported numbers on non-citizens undergoing the registration process and erodes the credibility of the entire report.
“The audit offers eight recommendations to strengthen safeguards, improve coordination between PennDOT and the Department of State, and tighten access controls. These recommendations must be implemented immediately. A voter registration system at the DMV must never serve as a backdoor for ineligible registrations.
“Pennsylvanians deserve a secure, accurate and transparent voter registration process. This audit has confirmed the vulnerabilities I suspected and raised even more red flags. I will continue to demand full implementation of the recommendations, immediate correction of the INS designation flaw, the cross-comparison to the SURE system I originally requested and broader comprehensive reviews of our election infrastructure. Election integrity is the foundation of our democracy. The weaknesses identified must be fixed without further delay.”
Former Rep. Frank Ryan, a certified public accountant and recognized expert in the field, added:
“Gov. Josh Shapiro’s claim of victory on the auditor general’s Motor Voter report is similar to a child telling his or her parents that of all the kids who failed the class, he or she had the highest failing grade.
“The weaknesses in the election system, combined with the limited and restricted scope of the audit, should provide no assurances to anyone in the commonwealth about the integrity of our election systems. However, it does reinforce the urgent need for an independent, unrestricted audit of the election system and the implementation of a meaningful system of internal controls.
“Instead of taking a victory lap, the governor should heed the concerns expressed by the auditor general and finally — after six or seven years of delays — implement the essential system changes to the SURE system that are critical to election integrity.”
CONTACT: Crystal Patterson, 717-432-1730