State says deadlines loom in suit over judge retirement age

    Pennsylvania’s top elections official is warning that a lawsuit about the wording of a November ballot question to extend the judicial retirement age by five more years is being pursued just as deadlines are quickly approaching to advertise the question and send out absentee ballots.

    Attorneys for Secretary of State Pedro Cortes responded Wednesday to the lawsuit filed last month by two former Supreme Court justices and a Philadelphia lawyer over the proposed constitutional amendment.

    Cortes is asking the Supreme Court to move quickly.

    He says there remains a very limited amount of time to adjust if the court orders changes to be made.

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    The amendment would let 1,000 justices, judges and district judges remain on the bench until age 75, compared to the current mandatory retirement age of 70.

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