Kathy Boockvar

Kathryn "Kathy" Boockvar (/ˈbʊkvɑːr/, born October 23, 1968)[1] is an American attorney and politician who has served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since January 5, 2019. She was appointed to the position by Governor Tom Wolf. Boockvar has previously served as Senior Advisor to the Governor on Election Modernization, beginning in March 2018.[2] In August 2019, she was named co-chair of the Elections Committee of the National Association of Secretaries of State.[3]

Kathy Boockvar
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
In office
January 5, 2019 – February 5, 2021
Acting: January 5, 2019 – November 19, 2019
GovernorTom Wolf
Preceded byRobert Torres (acting)
Succeeded by(vacant)
Personal details
Born
Kathryn Boockvar

(1968-10-23) October 23, 1968
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Jordan Yeager
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA)
American University (JD)

Boockvar previously served as Chief Counsel at the Department of Auditor General, on the Board of Commissioners of the Delaware River Port Authority, and as Executive Director of Lifecycle WomanCare, a birth center in suburban Philadelphia.[4] She has worked as a poll worker and voting-rights attorney in Pennsylvania.[5] Following a revelation that while under her supervision a constitutional amendment seeking to extend the statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse was not given the same coverage as other proposals had received, Boockvar announced her resignation, effective February 5, 2021.[6]

Early life and education

Born in Staten Island,[7] Boockvar was raised in Hewlett Neck, New York, where she attended Hewlett High School.[8] Boockvar earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990 and graduated as a Juris Doctor from the Washington College of Law at American University in 1993.[5]

Career

After completing both the New York and Pennsylvania bar exams, Boockvar began her career at Northern Pennsylvania Legal Services, an organization that provides legal services for people with low incomes and domestic violence survivors.[8] After four years with the organization, she began work as an attorney for Lehigh Valley Legal Services [8] representing low-income clients in cases of unemployment compensation, family law, disability, protection from abuse, bankruptcy, elder law and other issues.[9] In 1997, she was Managing Partner of Boockvar & Yeager along with her husband and litigated cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals and U.S. District Courts as well as Pennsylvania courts[9] related to employment, social security, pensions and insurance.[8]

From 2008 to 2011, Boockvar worked for Advancement Project, a non-profit organization focused on voting rights in Pennsylvania. During her tenure, she worked on voter rights education campaigns across the state.[8] In March 2018, Boockvar was named Senior Adviser to the Governor on Election Modernization in the Pennsylvania Department of State by Governor Tom Wolf.[10] She was appointed Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth on January 5, 2019 and confirmed by the Senate on November 19, 2019.[5] In August 2019, she was named co-chair of the Elections Committee of the National Association of Secretaries of State.[11]

During the 2020 election, Boockvar issued guidance instructing counties to contact voters and allow them to "cure" mail-in ballots that have been determined to be defective for various reasons. Many counties did not follow her guidance, believing it was a violation of state law which contains no such provision. Republicans unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit against Boockvar after the election and called for her to resign.[12]

Resignation

On February 1, 2021, after it was announced that the Pennsylvania Department of State had failed to properly advertise a constitutional amendment to voters, Boockvar resigned from her position. If enacted, the constitutional amendment would have given victims of childhood sexual abuse additional time to file claims currently barred by statute of limitations against perpetrators and institutions that covered up the crimes. The process to pass this constitutional amendment must now be restarted, meaning the earliest that voters could approve it is now 2023. All other amendments passed during the 2019–20 legislative session were properly advertised.[13] Her resignation will take effect on February 5, and Veronica Degraffenreid will serve in an acting capacity until Governor Tom Wolf appoints a permanent successor.[6]

Electoral history

Boockvar ran unsuccessfully for the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in 2011. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for the 8th congressional district in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, losing to incumbent Michael G. Fitzpatrick.[14]

Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District 2012[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michael G. Fitzpatrick (Incumbent) 199,379 56.6
Democratic Kathryn Boockvar 152,859 43.4
Total votes 352,238 100
Republican hold Swing

Personal life

Boockvar resides with her husband, Judge Jordan Yeager, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.[16]

Her brother John Boockvar is a neurosurgeon who was featured in the Netflix documentary series Lenox Hill.[17]

References
  1. "Pennsylvania Bar Association – Kathy Boockvar Personal Data Questionnaire" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  2. "Gov. Wolf reshuffles cabinet ahead of second term | TribLIVE.com". archive.triblive.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  3. "Elections and Voting During a Pandemic Webinar". Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  4. "/ccpa/". TribLIVE.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  5. "Secretary of the Commonwealth". Pennsylvania Department of State. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  6. Scolforo, Mark; Levy, Marc (February 1, 2021). "Pa. secretary of state out after failure to advertise constitutional amendment". 6abc Philadelphia. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  7. "A Q&A WITH KATHRYN BOOCKVAR OF LIFECYCLE WOMANCARE". Lifecycle Woman Cae. Archived from the original on January 14, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  8. "On a quest for change in government". Long Island Herald. March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  9. "Kathryn Boockvar CV" (PDF). Philly.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  10. "What Should Voting Look Like In The 21st Century?". Penn State University. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  11. "Keynote Speaker Announced, Celebrating 100th Anniversary of Women Having the Vote". BCTV. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  12. Briggs, Ryan (November 3, 2020). "Pa. Republicans sue to block ballots; call for state election chief to resign". WHYY. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  13. Couloumbis, Angela (February 1, 2021). "A Pa. Dept. of State error means some sex-abuse victims will again have to wait for justice". Spotlight PA. Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  14. Gibson, Keegan (January 12, 2012). "It's Official: Boockvar to Challenge Fitzpatrick". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  15. "Statistics of Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 2012". Karen Haas, Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. February 28, 2013. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  16. "Two Democrats, One Republican Elected For Judge Seats". Levittown Now. November 6, 2019. Archived from the original on April 27, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  17. "Protect and Elect". The Pennsylvania Gazette. August 21, 2020. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by
Robert Torres
Acting		 Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
2019–present		 Incumbent
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