An Act amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, in returns of primaries and elections, further providing for appeals to court from decisions of the county board and for Secretary of the Commonwealth to tabulate, compute and canvass returns; and, in recounts and contests, further providing for entry and effect of decision and providing for appeal.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Valerie Gaydos and 7 co-sponsors

The bill would require the Secretary of the Commonwealth to run a public website showing real-time preliminary election results and how many precincts have reported versus have yet

Re-committed to Rules

Overview

HB 2542 (2025-2026 Session, Pennsylvania) proposes an amendment to the Pennsylvania Election Code to enhance transparency and accessibility around election results. The bill adds a requirement for the Secretary of the Commonwealth to establish a publicly accessible internet website that reports preliminary election results on election day and remains active until all results are certified. The site would show, for each race, the number of precincts that have reported and the total number of precincts yet to report.

Main purpose and intent

Increase public access to real-time (preliminary) election results.

Provide clear visibility into the reporting status of each race (how many precincts have reported vs. how many are outstanding).

Create a centralized, online platform for timely results data managed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Key provisions and changes

Section added to Section 201 (Powers and Duties of the Secretary of the Commonwealth):

The Secretary must establish and maintain a publicly accessible internet website for the uniform reporting of preliminary results on election day and continue to update until all results are certified.
The site must display, for each race,:
The number of precincts that have reported in the reported total.
The total number of precincts yet to report votes.

Effective date: The act takes effect 60 days after passage.

Who/what would be affected

The Secretary of the Commonwealth would be responsible for implementing and maintaining the online results reporting system.

Voters, candidates, campaigns, media, and the general public would gain real-time access to preliminary results and reporting status across races.

County election officials would still be responsible for reporting precinct results, which would feed into the statewide online platform.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Effective date: 60 days after enactment.

Implementation timeline would likely align with the next election cycle to ensure the online reporting system is available for preliminary results on election day and remains active through certification.

The bill’s action history shows referral to the State Government committee, with sponsors including several co-sponsors, indicating legislative consideration but not yet final passage at the time of the provided record.

Potential impact and considerations

Positive impacts:

Greater transparency regarding how many precincts have reported.
Increased public confidence in election reporting through a centralized, official source.
Potentially faster public dissemination of results data on election night.

Considerations:

Ensuring the online system has robust security, accuracy, and uptime.
Clear standards for what constitutes “preliminary” results and how updates are presented to avoid confusion.
Coordination with county election offices for timely data feeds.

If you’d like, I can compare this bill’s provisions to existing Pennsylvania practices or summarize related provisions in other states for context.