Harrisburg, PA – Since taking office, Governor Josh Shapiro and his Administration have focused on delivering better government services – positioning Pennsylvania as a leader in efficiency, accountability, and digital innovation to ensure free, fair, and secure elections. Today, in keeping with that promise, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced that Civix has been chosen to implement a comprehensive election management system for Pennsylvania.
The new system will be implemented in phases and will ultimately provide a streamlined, one-stop-shop elections administration experience for the Department, county elections boards, candidates, political committees, and lobbyists. By updating our election management system, which will deliver updated services and online improvements, the Shapiro Administration will enhance the accuracy and security of Pennsylvania’s election system, and improve the registration, and ballot tracking experience for Pennsylvania voters. The Administration is using technology and innovation to make government services work better and more efficiently for Pennsylvanians.
“The Shapiro Administration prioritized procuring this contract as part of its continuing commitment to secure elections. A modern, streamlined election management system is a critical tool that our 67 county boards of elections need, and our voters expect,” Schmidt said. “We’re excited to work with Civix to customize and fully implement the new system by 2028.”
In working with Civix on this project, Pennsylvania joins a group of over 20 states with leaders from both parties – including Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Texas, and Connecticut – that have taken this step to promote election security, streamline election management, and make it easier for people to connect with these vital resources
Since 2003, the Department has maintained the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE) system, which serves as the database for all 67 counties to ensure the accuracy and integrity of Pennsylvania’s voter registration rolls. It allows counties to update voters’ registration information statewide, eliminate verified duplicates and deceased voters from the rolls, and transfer records electronically between counties.
“The SURE system has undergone extensive upgrades and security enhancements in the last 22 years,” Schmidt said. “It has served the voters of Pennsylvania well and will continue to do so for a bit longer, until Civix customizes our new system.”
An Integrated Solution
In addition to replacing SURE applications, the new system will replace the Department’s election night reporting (ENR), campaign finance, and lobbying disclosure registration and reporting systems. It will also feature a new public portal that will serve as the centralized home for Pennsylvanians to find support, guidance, and information about registered voters, upcoming elections, public elections data, and more.
The new system will take over the responsibilities of the Department’s current election night returns website which includes rolling results from counties after the polls close on each election night, providing voters, candidates, and members of the media with comprehensive unofficial election results. Visitors to the site can customize their searches, receive timely updates, view results on mobile devices, use a location-based service through the “My County” link to instantly bring up their county’s election returns, and connect to each county’s election results website.
Civix will also integrate the Department’s current campaign finance website, which receives and displays campaign finance reports filed by candidates for statewide, legislative, and judicial offices, as well as reports filed by political committees registered in Pennsylvania, and the Department’s current lobbying disclosure website, which makes public all filed registration statements and quarterly expense reports, among other functions.
In May 2024, the Department issued a request for proposals and received seven bids initially. After reviewing the proposals, the Department narrowed the field to four finalists. Then, a multidisciplinary team – which included Department elections staff, county elections officials, IT experts, and more – spent months reviewing, testing, and assessing the finalists’ proposed systems.
As part of the Department’s prioritization of this procurement, among other upcoming key procurements, the Department hired a Chief Modernization Officer whose primary role is to ensure that system implementations and enhancements meet the needs of the Department and its stakeholders.
Civix is a leading provider of government technology solutions, specializing in business services, election management, and ethics administration software. Committed to enhancing the efficiency and security of government administration, Civix delivers cutting-edge, cloud-based solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of its state and local clients.
“Civix is proud to partner with Pennsylvania to implement a scalable, secure, and adaptable system that meets the evolving needs of voters, election officials, and the public,” said Phillip Braithwaite, CEO of Civix. “We are committed to delivering innovative, future-ready solutions that enhance transparency, efficiency, and accessibility in election administration and ethics oversight. As more states recognize the need to modernize their election systems, Civix is proud to be the trusted partner leading this transformation, and we commend the Commonwealth for embracing a modern, integrated approach.”