Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Davidson and Khan introduce bill to prevent billionaires from influencing Pennsylvania elections

Davidson and Khan introduce bill to prevent billionaires from influencing Pennsylvania elections

Legislation would prohibit paying voters to vote or register to vote

Rep. Tarik Khan    April 2, 2025 | 2:09 PM

HARRISBURG, April 2 – Free and fair elections are a fundamental principle of American democracy, however in recent years there has been erosion in this cornerstone of our constitutional system. While rulings like Citizens United opened the door to big money influence in elections, recent schemes are even more brazen in their attempts to directly influence voters by offering cash in exchange for votes.

Incredibly these manipulations, while outrageous, dangerous and anti-constitutional, are not currently illegal under Pennsylvania law, according to two lawmakers who are working to change the law.

Today Pennsylvania House Democrats, led by state Reps. Nate Davidson, D-Cumberland/Dauphin, and Tarik Khan, D-Phila., unveiled new legislation that would defend elections in the commonwealth by amending the Pennsylvania Elections Code to make it illegal for a person to pay another person to vote or register to vote. 

The bill would include, but is not limited to, prohibiting a chance to win a lottery or similar prize-drawing contest in exchange for participation, as well as attempts to misleading the public into believing prizes are available to participants at random when in reality the winners were predetermined. 

“We know that money in politics erodes public faith in our elections and undermines the public trust – cornerstones of our constitutional system,” Davidson said. “Schemes like what we have seen in Pennsylvania and other states are incredibly dangerous and reckless – not just because they are blatantly wrong, but because they attack the very core of our democracy. Just three years ago, the General Assembly took action to protect our elections by prohibiting unaccountable third-party donations to our election administrators, and this bill extends those protections by prohibiting anyone, billionaires included, from offering money directly to voters to influence an election.”

In the last year neither state nor federal courts have stopped large checks to be given to voters, first in Pennsylvania during last year’s presidential campaign and now in Wisconsin. 

“Cynical schemes like this to openly and aggressively influence voters with cash payments are beyond disturbing – they attack the very bedrock of our democracy,” said Khan. “We are working to take action now to protect our elections from the toxic influence of these harmful manipulations.”

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