Pennsylvania
Related: About this forumBookmark this: A complete guide and amendment tracker for proposed changes to PA's Constitution
Last year, the proposals the legislature sent voters all received approval. Two limited the governors power to declare and sustain a state of emergency, and the other enshrined protection against discrimination based on race in Pennsylvania. Lawmakers are now considering a number of proposed changes that could radically reshape how parts of the state government work.
But despite the potential significance of these changes, its difficult to track them as they move through the process.
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Spotlight PA scoured this sessions bills to identify all the changes legislators want to make to the state constitution. Well update the below database when new proposals are introduced and as existing ones move through the process.
MORE at link, including a complete chart of all proposed Amendments.
Spotlight will update this info as we get closer to the Primary election. Be sure to check back....
Here's an easy tip: ANY amendment that has been proposed by ANY Repuke needs to be defeated. They usually introduce tricky wording on their proposals, so that liberals might think to answer "no" instead of "yes" or vice versa. They've done it before so don't be surprised when they do it again.
BumRushDaShow
(142,419 posts)to do "Disaster" or "Emergency" declarations by inserting themselves into the process. They carefully planned that by the 2 terms passage of the amendments (since they are a majority in both chambers), then purposely obfuscating the referendum language, AND finally having the ballot questions presented NOT during a GENERAL election, but during an always low-turnout PRIMARY election.
It would be interesting if some organization could sue based on when these ballot questions should be offered - i.e., ONLY during "general elections" vs "primary elections", mainly because the way the PA elections go, there is no "open primary", so you would also miss quite a bit of "Independent" voter input because they normally are not voting in the primaries.
FakeNoose
(35,697 posts)If the legislation were worthy they wouldn't need to do that, because the Governor probably wouldn't veto it. Hell, the Dems would probably want to co-sponsor it if the bill is worthy. But the Repukes found out how it is to fool the average voters who aren't paying attention, and there's such a low turnout on the primary elections. They shouldn't be allowed to do this.
Amending the Constitution should be the LAST resort, and it should get the most attention by voters and media.
BumRushDaShow
(142,419 posts)and was near-unanimously approved by both chambers (except I think one Republican in the Senate and a couple Democrats) and mainly because Democrats wanted the no-excuse mail-in voting (which I never ever expected to happen and would attend the telephone townhall meetings done by my (D) State Senator and even asked about it, and I knew what the answer would be) AND Republicans wanted to get rid of the straight-party ticket voting option. And those 2 items were the "compromise" for passage. With that, it sailed through and was signed by Wolf in October 31, 2019.
But then after the 2020 general election and those results, despite them having zero problem with Act-77 during the primaries, and even waving away the law's stipulation that allowed a Constitutional challenge of the law as written that was required to happen within 180 days after it was signed (because the GOP wanted straight-party voting gone but never anticipated that COVID-19 would blow up like it did), suddenly the GOP hated Act-77, and have been trying to do everything they can to kill it.
Deminpenn
(16,317 posts)nt