Hello, Pennsylvania! 

I’m back from our summer recess, but you wouldn’t know Votebeat was closed for a week from the stories we’ve published since Monday.

First, we got our hands on a letter yesterday that the U.S. Department of Justice sent to the Pennsylvania Department of State. The DOJ is asking the state for a wide range of information related to the state’s compliance with the 2002 Help America Vote Act.

On its face, it’s not as aggressive as other letters the DOJ has sent out in recent weeks, some of which have mentioned specific allegations of non-compliance with election law and threatened lawsuits. But it comes at a time when the department is reportedly exploring whether it can prosecute election officials for insufficiently safeguarding their computer systems, which the letter seeks information about. Read the story and the letter here. 

Next, you may recall that last month I attended a deliberative democracy poll in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania voters from across the state met to discuss everything from healthcare to election reform, aiming to reach consensus on ways to address these issues. Read that story here if you missed it.

Well, yesterday the poll results from that event were published. They showed that when voters discuss election reform issues in a bipartisan manner and with access to good information, they are more likely to agree. Check out the full story here. 

Finally, on Monday, we published an explainer on the state of the open primaries debate in Pennsylvania. There’s nothing necessarily new on that front, but if you’re looking for the basics to get up to speed on the conversation, read our story here.

Also, be sure to check out the WITF story from Jordan Wilke in the “In Other Voting News” section.

Let me know what election questions you have and what else I should look into. You can always reach me by email at [email protected] or on X: @ByCarterWalker.

And if you know someone who might be interested in our reporting on elections and voting throughout Pennsylvania, forward them this newsletter — they can sign up for it here.