Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds State’s Mail-In Voting Law
Martin Walsh August 3, 2022
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court upheld the state’s expansion of mail-in voting, giving Democrats a big victory just months before the crucial midterms.
“We find no restriction in our Constitution on the General Assembly’s ability to create universal mail-in voting,” wrote Justice Christine Donohue in the majority opinion.
The 5-2 ruling, with the two Republican justices both voting no, means expanded vote-by-mail will likely be in place for marquee races in November for governor and U.S. Senate.
“A lower court panel with a majority of Republican judges had thrown out the law in January, a ruling put on hold while the state Supreme Court reviewed an appeal by the administration of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. In the new decision, the justices agreed with Wolf’s argument that the lower court wrongly based its decision on court rulings that addressed older versions of the state constitution that had invalidated antiquated laws passed to expand absentee voting,” Fox News reported.
“The majority cited a provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution, method of elections, that says all elections shall be by ballot or by such other method as may be prescribed by law,” Fox News reported. “Wolf’s lawyers had told the court the current version of the state constitution should not be interpreted to outlaw voting by mail that goes beyond allowing it for people who are out of town on business, ill, physically disabled, or performing election day duties or religious observance. They said the constitution establishes only minimums for absentee and mail-in ballots.”
“Today’s court ruling definitively asserts that mail-in voting is a legal and constitutional method for Pennsylvania voters,” Wolf said in a statement. “By upholding the law, which the General Assembly approved in 2019 in a bipartisan manner, this ruling assures that mail-in voting remains in place and Pennsylvanians will be able to cast their ballot legally in person or by mail without any disruption or confusion.”
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https://conservativebrief.com/pennsylvania-4-65149/
