Today’s Links
Articles:
Pennsylvania Capital-Star – Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law survives constitutional challenge by GOP lawmakers
NPR – Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law is upheld by the state’s Supreme Court
Governor Tom Wolf – Statement on PA Supreme Court Upholding Mail-in Voting
USA Today – Fact check: Pennsylvania mail-in ballot claim mixes primary, general election data
State of PA – Pennsylvania’s Election Stats
Groups Taking Action:
Keystone Votes Coalition, League of Women Voters PA, Common Cause PA
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
August 2nd, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld Act 77, a bill allowing mail-in voting for all citizens, which passed with bipartisan support in 2019. The Big Lie caused some of the legislators who voted for the bill to join a suit against it after the 2020 election.
The Pennsylvania Capital Star reports that when Act 77 passed in 2019, a deal was struck by the Republican-controlled legislature with Democratic Governor Tom Wolf. In exchange for no-excuse mail balloting for any citizen, the Republicans got “Straight Ticket” voting removed from the ballot.
Then came President Donald Trump and his debunked narrative that fraudulent mail voting was to blame for his loss.
Seemingly overnight, mail voting was perceived as unsecure and liberal leaning by conservatives, and a suit by Pennsylvania Republicans argued that the legislature had overstepped its bounds. After a lower court struck it down, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said on August 2nd that the legislature did not overstep.
In 2020, 2.63 million Pennsylvania voters used mail in voting, one-third of them Republicans. Governor Tom Wolf said in a statement: “Voting is a fundamental right — a right that we should ensure is accessible for all voters. Mail-in voting is a safe, secure and legal option for Pennsylvania voters to exercise that right.”
Articles and groups taking action are at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.
Granny D said Democracy is not something we have, it’s something we DO. For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.