Skip to main content
Main content
Events

WATCH: A Q&A with top Pa. election official Al Schmidt

by Spotlight PA Staff |

Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt holds a news conference at the Capitol in Harrisburg.
Commonwealth Media Services

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters.

This year, Pennsylvania voters will cast their ballots for president, members of Congress, top state offices such as attorney general and treasurer, and more.

In 2020, the state was subjected to false claims of election fraud fueled by former President Donald Trump. The claims led to a flood of lawsuits, some of which went to the state’s Supreme Court, and sowed distrust in Pennsylvania’s election system.

On Tuesday, April 2, at 6 p.m. ET on Zoom, Al Schmidt, head of the Pennsylvania Department of State, joined Spotlight PA to discuss how his agency is working to create trust in our election system and combat misinformation. Schmidt took audience questions. The event also included a Q&A with a University of Pittsburgh researcher on how to spot election misinformation.

Our panelists included:

  • Carter Walker, reporter, Votebeat

  • Kate Huangpu, government reporter, Spotlight PA

  • Al Schmidt, secretary of the commonwealth

  • Beth Schwanke, executive director, Pitt Disinformation Lab

Trusting Elections from Spotlight PA on Vimeo.

» Spotlight PA’s events operate on a “pay-what-you-can” honor system. If you value this public-service event, pay it forward and contribute any amount to Spotlight PA now so we can keep our programming free for everyone: spotlightpa.org/donate.

Get the top news from across Pennsylvania, plus some fun and a puzzle, all in one free daily email newsletter.