WASHINGTON, D.C. – (November 3, 2025): The U.S. Supreme Court tasked the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to respond to a certiorari petition in Public Interest Legal Foundation v. Schmidt, a case that could impact whether the public has the right to inspect records demonstrating noncitizen voter registrations. The activity comes amid a growing number of supporting briefs filed by PILF-allied institutions to take up the case.
PILF filed its petition with the court on September 26, 2025. The Secretary of Pennsylvania waived his right to respond on October 17. On October 28, the Supreme Court asked Pennsylvania to respond, an unusual request. PILF urges the Court to accept this case and reaffirm that election records are public, and that parties can bring actions to enforce federal law.
PILF is supported by amici from Honest Elections Project, Judicial Watch, and the Center for Election Confidence. The Biden Justice Department filed a brief supporting PILF at the district court level in 2023.
In 2017, Pennsylvania publicly admitted that due to a “glitch,” it had permitted non-citizens to register to vote at Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicle offices (“PennDOT”) for the last several decades.
The glitch came from electronic touch screens that were programmed to give users the option to register to vote while getting new or updated drivers licenses. The screens would ask noncitizens whether they wanted to register to vote even if they had previously indicated they were not citizens.
The Commonwealth initially identified as many as 100,000 individuals that may have been improperly registered in this way. The Commonwealth kept much of its remedial actions a secret. Significant questions remain unanswered about Pennsylvania’s efforts to fix the problem. PILF sent a records inspection request under the NVRA’s Public Disclosure Provision. The Commonwealth denied the Foundation’s request leading PILF to file suit. Despite a district court ruling in favor of PILF on a summary judgment basis, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed.
Additional case documents are available here.
Representatives from the Public Interest Legal Foundation are available to discuss this case. To schedule an interview, email media@publicinterestlegal.org.
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