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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Secretary of the Commonwealth

    Al Schmidt

    “Elections are the foundation of our democracy – and we at the Pennsylvania Department of State work hard to ensure every eligible voter can make their voice heard.”

    Al Schmidt

     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. Prior to his appointment, Schmidt was president and chief executive officer at the Committee of Seventy, a nonprofit and nonpartisan good-government organization focused on strengthening democracy and combatting political corruption. 

    Before joining the Committee of Seventy, Schmidt served for 10 years as a Philadelphia City Commissioner. As a commissioner, Schmidt was one of three members on the bipartisan Board of Elections, where he was vice chairman. Since first being elected as city commissioner in November 2011, Schmidt worked to modernize election operations, improve efficiency, and bring greater integrity to the election process.   

    Secretary Schmidt is a former senior analyst at the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and served as a policy analyst for the Presidential Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States. Originally from Pittsburgh, he holds a doctorate in history from Brandeis University and a bachelor’s degree in history from Allegheny College.