Our Mission
The Pennsylvania Department of State, led by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, is responsible for ensuring the integrity of the electoral process, providing the necessary infrastructure for economic development through corporate registrations, and safeguarding the health and safety of the public through professional licensure. We strengthen democracy by overseeing free, fair, and accurate elections while performing public outreach to improve voter education and participation. To maintain public trust and protect Pennsylvanians, we enforce regulatory policies that uphold the highest standards of ethics and competence in professional and occupational licensing, charitable fundraising, and contact sports such as wrestling.
Gov. Josh Shapiro appointed Al Schmidt as Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth on Jan. 17, 2023, and Schmidt officially became Secretary on June 29, 2023.
During his tenure, Secretary Schmidt has directed multiple changes aimed at ensuring free and fair elections in Pennsylvania, including:
- overseeing a safe and secure 2024 presidential election in a highly scrutinized battleground state with the highest voter turnout in almost 50 years,
- implementing Automatic Voter Registration for eligible Commonwealth residents obtaining driver licenses and ID cards at Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) centers,
- updating election-related guidance and directives for counties that improved election administration and uniformity of elections across the Commonwealth, and
- redesigning mail ballot materials, which helped to significantly reduce the number of mail ballots rejected due to envelope completion errors.
Other improvements Schmidt has overseen at the Department include:
- slashing waiting times for corporate registration from 8 weeks to an average of 2-3 days,
- cutting processing times for professional and occupational licenses by over 50%, and
- leveraging resources and stakeholder engagement to implement critical pieces of legislation that prior administrations had been unable to accomplish, including interstate medical compacts approval.
Prior to his appointment, Schmidt was president and chief executive officer at the Committee of Seventy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan good-government organization focused on strengthening democracy and combatting political corruption.
Before that, Schmidt served for 10 years as a Philadelphia City Commissioner, where he was vice chairman of the three-member bipartisan Board of Elections. In that time, he improved government transparency, investigated voting irregularities, and modernized Philadelphia’s elections.
Schmidt also previously worked as a senior performance analyst at the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office, where he conducted performance audits of federal programs on behalf of Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. House and Senate, and he previously served as a policy analyst for the Presidential Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Schmidt holds a doctorate in history from Brandeis University and a bachelor's degree in history from Allegheny College.
History
The Pennsylvania Department of State is one of the oldest agencies in the nation, with roots that reach back nearly a century before the Revolutionary War. It was in 1680 that William Penn petitioned Charles II of England for land in America. The King agreed, and in 1681, he affixed his signature on the Charter of Pennsylvania.
In 1682, Penn drafted his First Frame of Government, establishing four committees, the first of which was the forerunner of the modern-day Department of State. William Markham was named the first Secretary of the Province, the title that was used for more than 90 years.
After the Revolutionary War, Timothy Matlack became the first person to hold the newly established title of Secretary of the Commonwealth.
It was not until 1919 that the agency, then known as the Department of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, was divided into bureaus. Over the years, the bureau structure has been maintained, although the specific bureaus have been reorganized and redefined several times.
Today, the Secretary of the Commonwealth is appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The Secretary is Pennsylvania’s Chief Election Official and a member of the Governor’s Executive Board. The Secretary is also the keeper of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth and authenticates government documents through use of the seal.
The Department protects the public's health and safety by licensing more than one million business and health professionals; promotes the integrity of the electoral process; supports economic development through corporate registrations and transactions; maintains registration and financial information for thousands of charities, and sanctions professional boxing, kick-boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts.