Pennsylvania Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee v. Department of State —Voter Information (PA)

On March 11, 2022, the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee filed a petition to enforce a subpoena issued to the Pennsylvania Department of State (“DOS”) for the private information of millions of voters as part of its investigation into the 2020 election. The data requested includes the names, addresses, birth dates, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers of every registered Pennsylvania voter. 

The petition was in response to a pending case filed by then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, that has been consolidated with other cases filed by other parties, including Democratic legislators, private citizens, and the League of Women Voters, who also sought to block the subpoena.  

The States United Democracy Center is acting as pro bono counsel in this case along with Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP, and is co-counsel with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. 

Oral Argument was held on September 12, 2022. 

On December 6, 2022, DOS filed an application asking the state’s Commonwealth Court to dismiss the petition for review as moot. DOS argued that the Committee’s authority and, accordingly, the subpoena issued by the Committee, expired on November 30 – the day the most recent legislative session ended. The response to DOS’s application agrees that the case is moot but argues that an exception to mootness should apply.  

• Petitioner for Review 
• Brief in Support of Respondents Preliminary Objections  
• Respondent’s Brief in Opposition to Summary Relief  
• Respondent’s Application to Dismiss as Moot 
• Committee’s Answer to Application to Dismiss as Moot