Pennsylvania’s Vote-by-Mail Law Remains in Effect

From Keystone Votes (https://www.keystonevotes.org/):

Pennsylvania’s bipartisan vote-by-mail law remains in effect after the state Supreme Court earlier this week overturned a lower court’s decision that would have ended the provision in Act 77 of 2019 in two weeks.

That’s the good news, especially for election directors who are gearing up for the May primary election and voters who are starting to think about who they want to vote for and how they want to cast their ballot.

The bad news is that this ongoing legal back and forth continues to sow confusion that can disenfranchise voters, especially in Black and Brown communities where barriers and distrust already are high.

For more than a year, some lawmakers have been working in unison to silence voters and restrict their freedoms after communities of color turned out in record numbers in recent elections.

“We know that politicians who want to limit who can vote and put restrictions on who can cast a ballot in Pennsylvania won’t stop their attacks,” said Diana Robinson, civic engagement director for Make the Road PA, a Keystone Votes coalition member, told PennLive/The Patriot-News in Harrisburg (“Pa. justices keep mail-in voting law in place, at least for now,” March 2, 2022). 

“It’s up to organizations like ours to provide timely and accurate information to voters in the face of this organized campaign. Right now, Pennsylvania’s vote-by-mail law remains in effect,” she continued.

In January, Commonwealth Court struck down the mail-in-voting provision of Act 77. The Wolf administration appealed to the state Supreme Court, which granted a stay. In February, a Commonwealth Court judge tried to end the stay and pull the plug on the two-year-old law.

The most recent Supreme Court ruling means the legal stay is in effect and Pennsylvania’s vote-by-mail law remains in place until appeals can be heard.

That’s important.

More than 3.2 million Pennsylvanians used vote by mail in the last major election in 2020. In the 2022 general election, almost two-thirds of all vote-by-mail voters were over the age of 65. There is no legitimate reason to try to overturn a law that so many people are using, unless politicians are afraid of giving power to these voters. 

Vote-by-mail provisions give citizens a more convenient way to participate in democracy, especially those who work long and nontraditional hours or who may have trouble making it to polling places because of work or family commitments. Voting by mail also protects access for people with disabilities and senior citizens.

There will be more to this story. In the meantime, know that this law remains in effect and the Keystone Votes coalition will continue to fight against any issue that seeks to limit voters’ freedoms.