HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — After passing through the Pa. House and Senate last week, Governor Wolf has officially vetoed House Bill 1300, an election reform bill introduced by Rep. Seth Grove (R – York).

HB 1300 introduced new action to hold more safe elections, or as creator Rep. Gove says, “make it easier to vote but harder to cheat.” This includes voter ID, more funding for counties to hold elections, and drop boxes for mail-in ballots. It was met with overwhelming support by the Republicans.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats call the bill “voter suppression” and “a mockery of our Democratic process.”

Governor Wolf said in the weeks leading up to the vote that he’d veto the bill, as he calls it “unconscionable” and that it forms “barriers to voting in Pennsylvania and rolls back many of the bipartisan improvements made in Act 77 of 2019.”

In response, Rep. Grove called the veto disappointing and that this bill was in favor by most of Pennsylvania.

“With a swipe of his veto pen, Gov. Tom Wolf once again failed Pennsylvanians,” Rep. Grove said in a statement. “From signature verification to requiring voters to show identification when voting, the Voting Rights Protection Act included initiatives supported by the majority of Pennsylvania voters.”

Grove also mentioned that this legislation was made in response to a lack of trust in the voting system during the last few elections.

“Throughout 10 hearings on Pennsylvania’s election process, we heard time and again the need to fix flaws in our election,” Grove said. “Local election officials asked for the deadline to register to vote and the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot be moved up so their staff have more time to do their jobs.”

Rep. Grove also tweeted his disappointment.

Gov. Wolf has said on various occasions that the last election was free and secure and that this bill is based on “conspiracy theories.”

While he agrees with some improvements, there are too many barriers to let it slide.