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Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court just upheld the state’s mail voting law

kalindana

kalindana

Member
Oct 28, 2018
3,194

View: https://twitter.com/mjs_DC/status/1554517211519356929

Pennsylvania's mail-voting law is constitutional, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, upholding the 2019 measure that allows any voter to use mail ballots.

The law has been used by millions of voters to cast ballots over the last two years, including the 2020 presidential election in which Joe Biden defeated then-President Donald Trump. Months before that Election Day, Trump began attacking mail voting, and Republicans since then have sought to dismantle the law.

A group of Republican lawmakers and a Republican county commissioner sued last summer, saying the law violates the state Constitution. Because the Constitution explicitly describes situations allowing absentee voting, they argued, it's unconstitutional to provide mail voting in other cases.

The state Supreme Court disagreed Tuesday.

"We find no restriction in our Constitution on the General Assembly's ability to create universal mail-in voting," Justice Christine Donohue wrote, joined by Chief Justice Baer and Justices Debra Todd and Kevin Dougherty.

www.inquirer.com

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court upheld the state’s mail voting law after a long legal fight

A group of Republican lawmakers and a Republican county commissioner sued last summer, saying the law violates the state Constitution.
www.inquirer.com www.inquirer.com
www.npr.org

Pennsylvania's mail-in voting law is upheld by the state's Supreme Court

All voters in the key swing state can continue casting ballots by mail now that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a law that was challenged by some GOP state lawmakers who helped pass it.
www.npr.org www.npr.org
 
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shinobi602

shinobi602

Verified
Oct 24, 2017
8,493
tenor.gif


Eat shit GOP fucks.
 
Musubi

Musubi

Unshakable Resolve - Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,744
As a PA resident I gotta say I am shocked. While national elections in PA CAN swing blue the state level politics swing very red. Glad to see it though. The GOP spent every waking day since the Presidential election trying to overturn the mail-in voting laws.
 
AnotherNils

AnotherNils

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,936
Donohue was joined by Chief Justice Max Baer and Justices Debra Todd and Kevin Dougherty; a fifth justice, David Wecht, agreed with most of the opinion. All five are Democrats. The two Republicans on the court, Justices Sallie Updyke Mundy and Kevin Brobson, dissented.
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TitlePending

TitlePending

The Fallen
Dec 26, 2018
5,348
This is all well and good.

Hopefully Supreme Court doesn't rule in favor of the 'independent state legislature' theory. Definitely my biggest worry.
 

Deleted member 22750

Oct 28, 2017
13,267
This is good


But my county is fucked and has in the past pulled schannanigans
 
RiOrius

RiOrius

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,088
Whew, a partisan split by a state supreme court on an elections law. That's... not ominous at all. Sure is a stable democracy we've got here.
 
BWoog

BWoog

Member
Oct 27, 2017
38,479
Slayven said:
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I know that Pelosi style Dems aren't paying attention to this, or just actively fear folks like Fetterman, Bernie and AOC, but the trick that Fetterman is able to do is being a genuine candidate from PA who reached out across the state to make sure that his message went out to EVERYONE, Democrat and Republican.
 
Lord Fanny

Lord Fanny

Member
Apr 25, 2020
26,023
Earthstrike said:
What was the basis of the dissent from the two republican justices?
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The two Republicans on the court, Justices Sallie Updyke Mundy and Kevin Brobson, dissented.

"I express no opinion as to whether no-excuse mail-in voting reflects wise public policy," Mundy wrote. "That is not my function as a member of this state's Judiciary. My function is to apply the text of the Pennsylvania Constitution, understood in light of its history and judicial precedent. In so doing, I would hold that that venerable document must be amended before any such policy can validly be enacted."

She and Brobson argued the court was seeking to improperly recast history — and prior precedent — to protect the law.
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DrDarkStryfe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,528
Pittsburgh, PA
Culex said:
This basically is the R death knell in PA, no?
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Nah. Both the state Senate and House are solidly Republican and will be for some time due to how the state is divvied up. With the Senate four seats away from having veto override power.

THe GOP's bench is so shallow right now that all they have are loons like Oz and Mastriano to roll out. If Brian Fitzpatrick runs for something in the future, that would be a hard fight for the state Dems.
 
DekuBleep

DekuBleep

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,712
It's funny that the mail in voting law was passed in 2019 with overwhelming republican support in the PA legislature. Now many of those Republicans are suing to say that the law they voted for should be unconstitutional.
 
qaopjlll

qaopjlll

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,807
Culex said:
This basically is the R death knell in PA, no?
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Lol no, mail in voting isn't really that much of a partisan issue. Basically the entire state outside of Pittsburgh and Philly are right-leaning ghouls and it's unlikely that Democrats will ever regain control of the state legislature due to gerrymandering. Also there's a fascist GOP extremist running for governor this year and he has a real chance of winning. If he wins then the state is essentially finished as a functioning democracy.
 

turtle553

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,252
Basically all this does for now is refute claims that the 2020 election was handled unconstitutionally in PA. Unlike Wisconsin, that ruled ballot drop boxes as unconstitutional that led people to claim the 2020 election was invalid.

Mail in voting really shouldn't move the needle one way or the other in normal times.
We are not in normal times.
 
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