Pa. politics: mail-in voting, maps and crowded races

Last week, a Pennsylvania court struck down the two-year-old law that allows no-excuse, mail-in voting in the state. Governor Wolf said his administration will appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court, but this Republican challenge to voting demonstrates the strategies and ferocity of the battles that will be fought out ahead of midterms. In addition, Wolf has rejected the redistricting map from Republican lawmakers and fighting continues around a fair redrawing of the legislative lines.

Turning to the crowded Senate race, the Democratic State Committee failed to endorse a candidate, but leaned toward U.S. Representative Connor Lamb in a straw poll. From the Republican side, former hedge fund executive David McCormick appears to be rising to the top. This hour, we talk Pennsylvania politics with three political junkies.

Guests

Jonathan Tamari, national political reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer @jonathantamari

Katie Meyer WHYY’s political reporter @katieemeyer4

Stephen Medvic, Director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College and the author of Gerrymandering: The Politics of Redistricting in the United States @stephenmedvic

Recommended reading

WHYY, Split among 4 candidates, Pa. Democrats fail to endorse one for U.S. Senate – “Though Lamb gathered the most votes, followed by Fetterman, Kenyatta, and then Arkoosh, his lead wasn’t decisive enough to clinch the official endorsement.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer, HOW DIFFERENT CONGRESSIONAL MAPS WOULD REDISTRICT PENNSYLVANIA – “Pennsylvania needs a new congressional map, but partisan gridlock has gotten in the way.”

Pennsylvania Capital-Star, Jan. 6 committee subpoenas bogus pro-Trump electors from Pa., 6 more states – “We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme.”

The New York Times, Pennsylvania Court Says State’s Mail Voting Law Is Unconstitutional – “The majority opinion, written by Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt, a Republican, said that voting “requires the physical presence of the elector” and ruled that the legislature could not make changes to voting laws without amending the state Constitution.”