A Pennsylvania court just overturned the state’s mail voting law — but expect appeals - The Philadelphia Inquirer

A Pennsylvania court struck down the state’s mail voting law Friday, saying the state Constitution requires voters cast ballots in person unless they meet specific requirements.

That almost certainly won’t be the final word on the matter, as the state will likely appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, triggering an automatic stay of that decision and leaving Act 77 in place while the high court considers the case. And Democrats believe the Supreme Court, which has a Democratic majority, will ultimately uphold the law.

Democrats had feared for months that the state’s Commonwealth Court, with its Republican majority, would strike down the 2019 law.

The court notably did not rule against the merits of mail voting and its expansion. It focused instead on how that expansion occurred, saying that change must take place through Constitutional amendment, not legislation.

“No-excuse mail-in voting makes the exercise of the franchise more convenient and has been used four times in the history of Pennsylvania,” the court wrote in its opinion. “Approximately 1.38 million voters have expressed their interest in voting by mail permanently. If presented to the people, a constitutional amendment… is likely to be adopted. But a constitutional amendment must be presented to the people” before legislation like Act 77 can take effect.

The decision was three to two, with three Republican judges striking the law over the dissent of two Democratic ones.

The law, which passed with widespread bipartisan support in 2019, became politically toxic on the right after Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Pennsylvania. Some conservatives blamed Trump’s loss on expanded mail voting and criticized Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration’s implementation of the law, saying the executive branch overstepped its authority. Republicans also blasted court decisions, such as one that allowed mail ballots to be counted up to three days after the 2020 election so long as they were postmarked by Election Day.

Republicans first brought a lawsuit alleging Act 77 was unconstitutional in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s 2020 defeat. They unsuccessfully sought to invalidate millions of mail ballots.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

source: https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pennsylvania-mail-voting-law-act-77-overturned-20220128.html

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