HARRISBURG, PA – July 17, 2026 − Yesterday, President Donald Trump took an extraordinary step in his years-long efforts to undermine faith in US elections by delivering a prime-time speech disparaging American elections workers, spewing baseless allegations about Chinese interference, and proposing sweeping voter disenfranchisement policy.
Since 2020, President Trump and Pennsylvania Senate Republicans have issued subpoenas, used multiple committees, and joined countless lawsuits attempting to access confidential, sensitive voter data on Pennsylvania’s voter rolls, manipulate the interpretation of our election laws and block the counting of valid ballots. All this, despite a complete lack of any evidence whatsoever of widespread voter fraud. Trump’s singular focus on disproving the audited, certified results of the 2020 Presidential Election has resulted in a monumental waste of time and resources.
In the face of this full-court press by Republicans at all levels to access protected voter data, Senate Democrats and Governor Shapiro have stood strong with Pennsylvania’s voters, successfully shielding 9 million voters’ personal information from the Trump administration and an unlawful use of legislative power to obtain it. Pennsylvania Senate Democrats have strongly supported additional legislative efforts to make certain all qualified Pennsylvania voters can access the ballot, including same-day voter registration, electronic poll books, pre-canvassing of mail-in ballots, notifications for Pennsylvanians turning 18, and ballot drop-boxes, among other reforms.
Senate Democrats applauded Governor Shapiro and Secretary Al Schmidt’s executive actions to improve ballot access, including redesigning mail-in ballots to reduce confusion and implementing an automatic voter registration program at PennDOT’s driver and motor license centers.
Together, Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa and Senate Democratic State Government Committee Chair Steve Santarsiero offer the following statement in response to President Trump’s speech last night:
“President Trump’s despicable attempts to once again destroy the public’s faith in our elections systems are dangerous, terrifying, disgusting, and shameful. Pennsylvania’s elections undergo rigorous audits to ensure that our systems are fair, free, safe, and secure. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt and the thousands of incredible elections workers who ensure our voices are heard work hard to execute our laws faithfully so that every eligible Pennsylvanian can cast their ballots without fear, intimidation, or unnecessary barriers, and it is downright unconscionable that President Trump demonizes their labor on national television for his own personal gain.
“As we celebrate 250 years of the American experiment, Senate Democrats are more committed than ever to protecting Pennsylvanians from the unlawful overreach of Trump’s lapdogs and ensuring that all voters are free to exercise their fundamental right to vote in free and equal elections for the leaders of their choosing without this constant interference. We cannot sit idly by and let an aspiring dictator permanently rig our elections and destroy our hard-won freedom to vote.”
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