Pedro Cortes

HARRISBURG — State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe doesn't know if questions he first raised last year about non-citizen voter registration are part of the reason Secretary of State Pedro Cortes abruptly resigned Wednesday, but he said they still remain unanswered.

Metcalfe, who represents the state's 12th Legislative District, first started talking about the issue last year. But last week he revived it in a big way when he and more than a dozen colleagues demanded answers from Cortes about allegations of illegal voting and non-citizen voter registration in Pennsylvania.

Cortes, who had served as the state's top election official since 2015, abruptly resigned on Wednesday. The office of Gov. Tom Wolf said interim Secretary of State Robert Torres would step into the role but haven't explained why Cortes, who also served as the state's top election official from 2003 to 2010 under Gov. Ed Rendell, stepped down.

Cortes' departure comes several weeks after his department was criticized for a glitch officials say might have allowed thousands of ineligible immigrants to cast ballots statewide.

The resignation also comes just one week after Metcalfe, who is the chairman of the House's State Government Committee, and 15 of his colleagues sent Cortes a letter expressing “dire concerns” about the glitch, which appears to be tied to driver's license renewals at PennDOT service centers.

A full report appears in the Butler Eagle.