Pennsylvania Supreme Court Nixes Republican Challenge to Mail-In Voting Law Originally Supported by State GOP Lawmakers – By Colin Kalmbacher (Law and Crime) / Aug 3, 2022
The top court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has ruled that a 2019 mail-in voting law that passed with strong Republican support is constitutional, after a challenge brought by a group of GOP lawmakers who initially supported the law.
A product of bi-partisan compromise, the legislation at issue, Act 77, was passed with much acclaim from both parties, as the details were hammered out by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican-dominated Pennsylvania General Assembly.
“Act 77 was an enormously popular piece of legislation on both sides of the aisle,” the court remarked in an introductory section of Tuesday’s ruling. “In the state Senate, Act 77 passed 35-14, with Republicans voting 27-0 in favor along with eight Democrats.”
Along with the provision creating universal, excuse-free absentee voting, the compromise bill also extended deadlines for returning ballots, created a permanent mail voter list, reduced the deadline for voter registration from 30 days to 15 days before an election, eliminated straight-ticket voting, and provided $90 million to upgrade voting machines.
