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🗞️ Headlines. SCOTUS seemed poised to limit mail-in voting deadlines. Pennsylvania Republicans want their own SAVE Act. The Local Government Academy teaches recent officials how to work. “Corporate business” and the efficiency of your work.
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The most essential story
1. It seems that the Supreme Court is ready to limit the deadlines for postal voting
“The Supreme Court has shown openness to blocking Mississippi’s law allowing absentee ballots to be accepted and counted after Election Day – a ruling that could upend mail-in voting across the country ahead of the midterms.
During Monday’s oral presentations entitled Watson v. Republican National Committeethe conservative majority expressed concerns about the Mississippi law if allowed to pass, questioning how the law could delay and distort election results.” | known
Elsewhere
Smucker attracts a challenger to become House GOP budget chairman. “The race is on to become the next leader of the Republican Party on the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee. And right in the middle of that race is Pennsylvania Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-11).” | PoliticsPA
What is the Free Sharia Club of America and who from PA joined it? “Since its founding late last year, more than 50 House Republicans have joined the Sharia-Free American Caucus, which its founders say was created to “save Western civilization and fight the Sharia threat.” It has been condemned as an “anti-Muslim extremist organization” by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Its members include two Pennsylvania lawmakers, Republican U.S. Reps. Scott Perry and Mike Kelly Erie Times-News
‘Completely unlawful’: Why this congresswoman wants Pam Bondi impeached. “Rep. Summer Lee’s impeachment measure, crafted with the help of the nonprofit anti-corruption group Free Speech for People, points to investigations and prosecutions that she says show the Justice Department is politicized.” | USA today
2028 Democrats reject AIPAC. “Democrats eyeing a 2028 White House run are preemptively breaking with AIPAC. A spokesman for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he has “never taken money or solicited support from AIPAC.” | POLICY
Country
2. ‘Tear down the entire system’: Pennsylvania Republicans want their own SAVE act
“Republicans in Harrisburg have their own version of voter ID. It’s not as stringent and doesn’t get as much attention. But the state Representative Chris Gebhardt stated that voters want some change.
“I said I think we have to tear down the whole system and rebuild it,” Gebhard said. “I think it’s defective.” | abc27
Elsewhere
How many voters might be affected by earlier mail-in voting deadlines? We ran the numbers. “Since the 2024 election, four states – all Republican-controlled – have changed their election laws to no longer accept absentee ballots arriving after Election Day. And while 14 states and Washington, D.C. continue to do so, as long as those ballots are mailed before Election Day, more of them could be rejected in future elections due to recent changes in U.S. Postal Service procedures. Moreover, an ongoing U.S. Supreme Court case could make it illegal for any jurisdiction to counting ballots that arrive after Election Day, period.” | PoliticsPA
PA-08: Cognetti, Bresnahan Address Data Centers and Troubleshooting. “Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti said this week that if a company wants to call Lackawanna County home, the benefits should be seen by residents, not just the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters. “Rob Bresnahan has consistently argued that when it comes to building data centers, decisions should be made by local elected officials and local labor should be used for these projects.” | Leader of the Wilkes-Barre Times
Lawmakers are proposing a bill to give the state additional oversight of water exploit at the recent data center. “State lawmakers introduced a bill Monday that would require data center developers to submit reports to the commonwealth on expected water use before they begin operations. It is one of several efforts to provide better oversight of the rapidly growing sector fueling the nation’s artificial intelligence boom. ” | Penn Capital Star
Around the Republic of Poland
3. From ethics to zoning – Local Government Academy teaches recent officials how to work in southwestern Pennsylvania
“Welcome to the Newly Elected Officials Course, a local program that teaches officials the basics of municipal government through more than 40 hours of classes covering everything from state ethics rules to budgeting and finance, land exploit and development, to public safety and infrastructure.
Officials who take this course learn that “the key principle is to build trust and transparency in everything they do,” he said Ruff’s joyExecutive Director of the Academy of Local Government. | THAT’S ALL
Elsewhere
Allegheny County is considering mandatory property reappraisals. “More than 15 years after the state supreme court ruled that Allegheny County’s property assessment system was illegal, local officials intend to propose major changes.” | Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper
HD-30: Venkat has a clear path to re-election after court removes GOP rival Akkary. “State Rep. Arvind Venkat appears to have a clear path to re-election this fall after a judge ruled that potential Republican challenger Ehab Akkary does not meet the residency requirements to hold office as a state legislator.” | THAT’S ALL
The Gettysburg Borough Council appoints a recent mayor after his sudden resignation. “The Gettysburg Borough Council named Alison Lintal as the borough’s new mayor on Monday night, filling the leadership vacancy left by former Mayor Chad-Alan Carr just two weeks after opening applications for the position.” | Nov 43
Buchtan’s campaign calls for “cease and desist” to stop GOP mailers. “GOP state Senate candidate Al Buchtan sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Pennsylvania Republican Party on Monday, demanding an end to inaccurate mailings about his time on the Carmichaels Area School Board and asking the party to formally withdraw.” | Observer-Reporter from Washington
Editorial
4. What do you think about it?
1 item
5. Research shows that employees who fall for “corporate bullshit” may perform worse
“Have you ever been to a meeting where someone declared that your company is “growth hacking” and “working at the intersection of cross-collateralization and blue sky thinking” and called it bullshit? It turns out you were right.
A recent study from Cornell University, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, finds that employees who are most excited and impressed by corporate speech may be the least equipped to make effective, practical business decisions, which could leave companies with dysfunctional leaders.’ | Guardian
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