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👂 What do we hearCongressional Leadership Fund Sets Aside $3.8 Million for Philadelphia Advertising Representative Susan Wild (D-Pa.) in the 7th District. “This is definitely one of the most important races in the country,” he said Stephen Medvicdirector of the Center for Policy and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College. “And what it looks like now is a lottery.”
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The most essential story
1. The 2020 Election Was Called Days Late Due to Slow Mail-in Vote Counting in Pennsylvania, and It Could Happen Again
“Pennsylvania election officials are warning that vote counting in the key battleground state could again take days because of a lack of action in Harrisburg, creating an opportunity for fraudsters to sow distrust in the results.
County election officials have been petitioning state lawmakers for years to update the state’s election code. They have also persistently asked the General Assembly to clarify which mail-in ballots can and can’t be counted, addressing voting rights disputes that have raged in Pennsylvania since no-consequence absentee voting was authorized in 2019.
But as November approaches, little has changed since 2020, when the former president Donald Trump exploited the slow vote-counting process to promote baseless claims of election fraud after his defeat.” (“Philadelphia Inquirer”)
Elsewhere
Biden, Harris Jointly Call for Support for Pittsburgh Labor Party“President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, making their first campaign appearance together since last month’s Democratic National Convention, celebrated Labor Day in Pittsburgh by courting a key group of voters in the fall election — union members.” (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Harris, Biden double down on opposition to US Steel sale at joint campaign event“Kamala Harris used a Labor Day speech in Pittsburgh to reiterate her case for iconic U.S. Steel to remain an American company despite its apparent takeover by a Japanese company.” (News from New Castle)
Why Pennsylvania and Georgia Are Must-Win States in November“For Kamala Harris, it’s Pennsylvania. For Donald Trump, it’s Georgia. Each campaign has a must-win state on its way to 270 electoral votes, which explains why both candidates are spending so much time, energy and money in those two places — to secure one prize and block the other.” (Wall Street Journal)
Senate Rankings: 5 Seats Most Likely to Change. “There’s no way to summarize it: These have not been good days for David McCormick. Yet some Republicans still see a glimmer of hope in the Keystone State.” (Hill)
‘Useful Idiot for Russia’: DNC Decides to Move Away with Jill Stein“After 10 months of almost completely ignoring Jill Stein’s impossibly unachievable presidential bill, the Democratic Party is now actively trying to bury it.” (Bastion)
Country
2. Mail-in ballots can’t be rejected because of incorrect date on envelope, Pennsylvania court rules
“Disregarding a vote cast by mail because the return envelope was not properly dated violates a voter’s rights under the state constitution,” a Pennsylvania appeals court ruled Friday.
Republicans have said they will immediately appeal the ruling to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. But if the decision stands, it could affect thousands of votes and the outcome of close races.” (PoliticsPA)
Elsewhere
Pennsylvania Election 2024: Complete Guide to Attorney General Candidates“With a budget of $144 million and a staff of 1,060 prosecutors, attorneys, investigators and other staff, the Office of the Attorney General is, at its core, a law firm that represents Pennsylvania’s vast government and defends its rights in court.” (PA reflector)
Republicans demand answers in Democratic state Senate candidate’s car crash“The only thing both sides agree on is that Nicole Ruscitto, who is running against GOP state Sen. Devlin Robinson in the 37th District, which covers much of Allegheny County, was involved in a car accident in Clairton, south of Pittsburgh.” (PennLive)
‘It really helps’: State funding helps local counties pay for election administration“The Pennsylvania Election Integrity Grant Program, established by Bipartisan Act 88 of 2022, provides funding to counties to support election administration operations and activities. Among other eligible uses, counties may use the funds to pay election staff and election workers, pay for ballot printing, and cover physical security and transparency costs associated with centralized pre-counting and canvassing.” (Scranton Times-Tribune)
Former PA lawmakers promote election security with bipartisan Defense of Democracy Project“In an era of bitter political animosity and deep partisan division that some say has existed since the Civil War, former Pennsylvania lawmakers from opposing sides of the political spectrum are finding common ground in the name of preserving the American democratic process.” (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Around the Commonwealth of Nations
3. Lehigh Valley congressional elections are overshadowed by presidential election, but could decide who controls the House of Representatives
“Without paying attention to any political rivalry beyond the race between former President Donald Trump AND Vice President Kamala HarrisFew people interviewed last week in Allentown, Easton and Bethlehem could name the congressional candidates in their districts.
But the stakes could not be higher in this competitive, nationally consequential race that could lend a hand decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives for the next two years.” (“Philadelphia Inquirer”)
Elsewhere
Divided on abortion, inflation and immigration, Pittsburgh suburbs could impact 2024 presidential election“Shaler and West Mifflin split down the middle in the 2020 election. Voters there are now focusing on familiar issues as they and their neighbors poised to cast crucial votes in November.” (Public source)
Taking the Pulse of Trump Country in Pennsylvania on the Lincoln Highway as the 2024 Election Heats Up“We went out on the road and randomly met people from eastern Lancaster County through Gettysburg, asking them about their lives and how they planned to vote.” (York Daily Record)
Police say man faces charges after storming press area at Trump rally“Police said Saturday that a man will be charged with a misdemeanor after he barged into the press area at a Donald Trump rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, before being surrounded by officers and ultimately subdued with a stun gun as the former president spoke at a campaign stop.” (AP)
2020 Election Denialists Ordered to Pay $1 Million in Pennsylvania Voting Machine Dispute“A Pennsylvania judge has ordered three 2020 election challengers to pay nearly $1 million in fees following a years-long legal dispute with state officials over voting equipment used in the last presidential election, according to recent court documents.” (CNN)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
- It’s difficult to run as an outsider when you’re already incumbent, but that’s not stopping Kamala Harris from trying. (Kyle Sammin)
- Note to MAGA: Stick to Vice President Kamala Harris’ policies and desist from the sex slurs. (Jencice Armstrong)
- Who are the undecided voters who will decide the election results? (Salena Zito)
- In banning PG from participating in election campaigns, Harris-Walz becomes the very thing she opposes. (Brandon McGinley)
- How the 14th Amendment prevents state legislators from overturning the results of popular presidential elections. (Eric Eisner and David B. Froomkin)
1 thing
5. How a Pennsylvanian Founded an Imaginary Nation in Antarctica
“Travis McHenry had never heard of a micronation when he founded his first one, almost by accident, in the Kittatinny Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania.
A few years after the Casbah’s quiet demise, McHenry organized one of the largest land grabs in history, staking a wholly symbolic claim to a 620,000-square-mile (Alaska-sized) slice of melting Antarctica and declaring it the newest (and perhaps largest) microstate on Earth: Westermark.
McHenry, a Bloomsburg University graduate, would appoint himself monocratic ruler without ever setting foot there, and 2,300 people (and counting) would voluntarily become fully remote citizens of Westarctica. Online elections held last year crowned a new prime minister, the third in history. (Local PA)
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