Tag: Pennsylvania

Commentary: The Economics of Early Voting

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

After the recent assassination attempt on Donald J. Trump, some think the race is Trump’s to lose. I tend to agree that the race is in some ways Trump’s to lose, while at the same time feel very strongly that the left is not going to simply roll over and give up on trying to keep Trump from a second term.

So it’s important to not be over-exuberant; Trump is absolutely riding high right now, from the debacle of a debate for Biden to Judge Cannon dismissing the Jack Smith documents case to surviving an assassination attempt. But the right needs to focus on what takes place between now and November 5th, specifically on how every Republican and conservative can help Trump win by doing one simple thing: casting your ballot early.

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Pennsylvania Shooter’s Neighbors Portray Detached, Reclusive Family

JGrandstaff

Conversations by The Pennsylvania Daily Star with around two dozen neighbors near the house where Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump, lived painted a picture of a family that mostly keeps to itself and a young man who had little interaction with the neighborhood.

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Pennsylvania Rally Attendee ‘We Thought the Shooter Was in the Crowd’

JGrandstaff

An attendee at former President Donald Trump’s Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania told The Pennsylvania Daily Star that attendees feared the shooter stood among the crowd, and they felt relief only when Trump rose to his feet and raised his fist.

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Commentary: Don’t Let the Department of Education Silence Our Kids

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff
Moms for America

The Founding Fathers recognized that an educated citizenry was vital to the survival of our republic. Thomas Jefferson, for example, saw education as essential to giving every citizen the opportunity to participate meaningfully in a free society.

Writing in 1818, our third president described public education as “the means to give every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business … to express and preserve his own ideas … to improve his morals and faculties … to understand his duties, and to exercise his rights.”

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Lawsuits over Mail-In Ballot Laws Abound in Battleground States That Matter in November Election

Just the News
Person putting mail-in ballot in ballot return box

Lawsuits across six battleground states will significantly impact the November election as laws regarding mail-in balloting are challenged.

In the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, lawsuits that have either concluded or remain ongoing over laws about mail-in and absentee ballots are shaping how votes will be counted in the general election.

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U.S. Drivers Killed Fewer Pedestrians in 2023, Except in Pennsylvania

Just the News
Pedestrians

Pedestrian deaths are finally starting to drop across America to pre-pandemic levels.

Pennsylvania, however, bucked the national trend. Drivers killed 192 pedestrians in 2023, eight more than in 2022, and 25 percent more than in 2019, according to an analysis from the Governors Highway Safety Administration.

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Democrat Lawfare Failed to Derail Trump Campaign So Far, While Triggering Financial Avalanche

Just the News
Donald Trump

Four indictments and one set of convictions later, a Democrat-led lawfare strategy has failed so far to derail Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House, but it has triggered an avalanche of financial support as the former president hold leads in most battleground states that will decide the 2024 election.

No where was Trump’s resilience more obvious than his travels across the West Coast this weekend, where he collected $12 million at a Silicon Valley fund-raiser at the home of a Big Tech executive who used to support Hillary Clinton, scored millions more at events in blue southern California and then jetted off to Las Vegas for a boisterous rally in Nevada where a post-conviction poll showed him leading that once-Biden-friendly state by five points.

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‘Deeply Regressive’: Riley Gaines Slams Biden’s Title IX Rules at Pro-Women Sports Rally

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff
Riley Gaines

The Biden administration’s changes to Title IX will reverse 50 years of progress for female athletes by allowing biological men to keep competing in women’s sports, pro-women’s sports leaders said Friday at an Our Bodies, Our Sports coalition rally.

The event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania was one of the first stops on the coalition’s Take Back Title IX bus tour, which calls on America’s leaders to ensure equal protections for female athletes under the federal regulation.

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Biden’s Signature Bills are Pumping Billions into Swing States as 2024 Elections Draw Near

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff
President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden’s signature pieces of legislation are routing billions of dollars into swing states, but pundits are not convinced that the money will make much difference in November’s elections.

The bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021, the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have cumulatively routed billions of dollars to battleground states over the course of Biden’s first term. The Biden campaign is running swing state ads to promote the funding and projects that Biden’s legislative agenda has created, but state and national pundits told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the benefits are unlikely to be a decisive factor in states like Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

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Trump Clobbers Biden in Crucial Swing States, Gains Ground with Black, Hispanic Voters: POLL

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff
Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in five crucial battleground states for head-to-head matchups ahead of a November rematch, and has gained ground among black and Hispanic voters, a Monday poll found.

Trump is ahead of Biden by 13 points among likely voters in Nevada, as well as by nine points in Georgia, six points in Arizona, three points in Pennsylvania and one point in Wisconsin, according to the latest New York Times/Siena College survey. Biden is only leading in one state, Michigan, with a 47 percent to 45 percent margin.

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Bidenomics Tips More Stressed U.S. Banks Into Danger Zone as Economy Slows

Just the News
Fulton Chairman and CEO Curt Myers

With inflation, high-interest rates and slowing economic growth already stressing Americans heading into the 2024 election, another reason to worry about the Biden economy has cropped up: distressed banks in danger of failing.

Last month U.S. regulators seized a bank known as Republic First Bancorp and agreed to sell it to Fulton Bank.

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Commentary: Abortion Once Again at Forefront of Election

RealClearWire

The prevailing belief in the Democratic Party is that abortion will again be a potent issue against Republicans in this year’s election cycle just as it was in 2022 – and that this time it will not just cost the GOP gaining the majority in the U.S. Senate, but also give Democrats the upper hand in retaining the presidency and winning back the House.

Abortion rights put the brakes on the Republicans’ chances in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion after almost 50 years; a decision that transformed American politics that year, benefiting Democrats who were on their way to a bruising midterm election defeat.

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GOP Secretaries of State, Legislators Fight Against ‘Bidenbucks,’ Federalization of GOTV Efforts

Just the News
West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner with Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson (composite image)

Republican secretaries of state and state legislators are pushing back against “Bidenbucks,” what call the federalization of voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts, claiming that the executive order is unlawful.

West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner and Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, along with Republicans in the Pennsylvania legislature, are fighting President Biden’s Executive Order 14019 from March 2021, which turns federal agencies into “Get Out The Vote” (GOTV) centers across all states.

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New Poll Shows Trump Getting Bump in Five Crucial Battleground States

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff
Donald Trump at a rally event

Former President Donald Trump received polling bumps against President Joe Biden in the battleground states of Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in a survey released Wednesday.

Trump’s advantage grew in Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina since March, while he is now leading in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to the latest Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll. The former president’s lead in Georgia remained the same, and his margin across all seven battleground states including Michigan also grew to six points in a head-to-head matchup with Biden.

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Black Men’s Support for Trump Doubles in Swing States: Poll

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff
MAGA Hat

Former President Donald Trump’s support among black men has increased in battleground states ahead of the 2024 election by more than double his support among the same group in 2020’s election, according to a poll published on Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has long sought to gain support among black voters, traditionally a Democratic-supporting demographic, by touting his record on the economy and criminal justice reform while in office, among other matters. A recent poll estimated that 30 percent of black men in seven battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — “definitely or probably” plan to vote for Trump in November’s election, an increase of 18 percent from his nationwide performance among that demographic in 2020, where he earned 12 percent of their votes, the Journal reported.

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Democrats, Liberals Criticize ‘Election Deniers’ but Face Allegations of Election Irregularities

Just the News
Al Gore and Hillary Clinton (composite image)

While Democrats and liberals criticize Republicans, conservatives, and others who are concerned about election integrity, smearing them with the pejorative label “election deniers,” many allegations regarding election irregularities are now being made against Democrats.

Since the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have raised concerns about election irregularities and are often called “election deniers” by Democrats and the media. However, many Democrats have been accused or found guilty of election crimes, sometimes by members of their own party.

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Trump Leads Biden in Six of Seven Critical Swing States: WSJ Poll

Just the News
Donald Trump and Joe Biden in front of The White House (composite image)

Former President Donald Trump has staked out a significant lead against President Joe Biden in several of the most pivotal states that could decide the 2020 election, a recent survey has revealed.

The Wall Street Journal survey questioned voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and found Trump leading his likely opponent in all of them except Wisconsin, where the pair tied.

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Republicans Take on Ballot Harvesting, Drop Boxes but Legally Using them in 2024 Election Cycle

Just the News
Ballot drop box

As Alabama has banned ballot harvesting and Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are fighting ballot drop boxes, GOP campaign efforts are using those same tools where legal.

Democrats have long focused on mail-in and early voting while Republicans have warned of potential insecurities of those methods. Now the GOP is starting to embrace it this election cycle. However, the acceptance of mail-in voting as a tool isn’t preventing Republicans from looking to secure or ban certain aspects of it, such as ballot harvesting and ballot drop boxes.

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DeSantis Enters Presidential Race with ‘Skewed’ Narrative He’s Better Positioned to Beat Biden than Trump

M.D. Kittle

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially launched his presidential campaign Wednesday, ending months of speculation and ratcheting up what promises to be an intense battle for the Republican Party nomination. 

DeSantis enters the race as a top tier candidate, but still lagging far behind frontrunner Donald Trump, according to just about every poll out there. 

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Pollster: Biden’s Re-Election Campaign Announcement ‘Like Christmas’ to Trump, Republicans

M.D. Kittle

President Joe Biden announced his re-election campaign Tuesday, insisting he’s running again to “stand up for fundamental freedoms.” 

Republicans in the nation’s presidential battleground states say the out-of-touch 80-year-old Democrat has cost Americans their freedoms — and their finances. 

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POS Poll Shows DeSantis Faring Better Than Trump Against Biden in the Badger State Despite Many Polls to the Contrary

M.D. Kittle

Public Opinion Strategies is out with yet another poll showing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis faring better against former President Donald Trump, this time in battleground Wisconsin. But just who is paying for the polling that paints a picture of DeSantis’ presidential strength despite Trump’s significant lead in primary polls remains unclear.

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Wisconsin Set to Receive Part of a Nearly $400 Million Settlement from Google over Location-Tracking Probe

Just the News

Google agreed to a $391.5 million settlement with 40 states after an investigation found that the tech giant participated in questionable location-tracking practices, state attorneys general announced Monday.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong called it a “historic win for consumers.”

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Commentary: The Importance of Doug Mastriano

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for governor — that would be state Sen. Doug Mastriano — is under attack by the establishment elite for not being … part of the establishment elite. And, of all people, the Republican Governors Association has signed on for the attack.

For those who have not followed the tale, Mastriano is a 30-year active-duty combat veteran who retired as a colonel in the Army. Apart from being deployed to Iraq for Operation Desert Storm (1991), assigned to the U.S. forces liberating Kuwait, in the post–9/11 world he was assigned to NATO and had three tours in Afghanistan. He ended his military career as a professor at the U.S. Army War College, in nearby (to me) Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He has four master’s degrees and holds a doctorate in history.

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: Punishing Pennsylvania, Liberating Virginia

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin are moving their states in opposite directions.

Gov. Youngkin is focused on lowering the cost of living and improving Virginia’s appeal as a place to do business. Boeing’s recent announcement that it is moving from Illinois to Virginia is an example of his efforts. Youngkin’s aggressive pro-jobs push led CNBC to call Virginia the No. 1 state in the country for business.

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Trump-Endorsed Pennsylvania GOP Senate Hopeful Dr. Oz Reveals Family Secret Behind His Dual Citizenship

Julie Carr

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, covered a Bristol, Pennsylvania, town hall held by Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Senate GOP candidate endorsed by President Donald J. Trump, where the heart surgeon and former TV star addresses questions about his dual citizenship with Turkey.

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Talk Radio’s ‘Godzilla of Truth’ John Fredericks on Attack

Julie Carr

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, interviewed radio talk show host John Fredericks ‘The Godzilla of Truth’ about how his show is different from other shows just after he hosted an April town meeting with Pennsylvania GOP hopeful, Dr. Mehmet Oz.

‘A lot of my competitors go in a studio, they bring them the paper, somebody brings them a hot chocolate with whipped cream on it. Then they have a coach there, they have a studio, it’s all comfortable, air-conditioned,’ Fredericks said.

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Commentary: Battle for Hispanic Voters Comes to Key Pennsylvania City

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

The battle for Hispanic voters in traditional Democratic strongholds is intensifying in Pennsylvania. Last month, the Republican National Committee opened a Hispanic community center in Allentown, the state’s third-largest city. It’s the sixth such center that the RNC has opened nationwide.

Allentown, once associated with steel and Mack trucks, is centered in the Lehigh Valley, now a booming region thanks to the warehousing and logistics sector. The politically competitive Valley is increasingly important to statewide elections, such as the upcoming races to replace retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who lives near Allentown, and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.

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Trump Blasts Pence’s Claims About January 6: Vice Presidency Not an ‘Automatic Conveyor Belt for Old Crow Mitch McConnell to Get Biden Elected President’

Michael Patrick Leahy

Former President Donald Trump released a blistering attack Friday afternoon on former Vice President Mike Pence’s claims earlier in the day about the January 6, 2021 Joint Session of Congress over which Pence presided at which Electoral College votes submitted by the states were counted.

In a speech before the Florida Chapter of the Federalist Society in Orlando on Friday, Pence asserted, “There are those in our party who believe that as the presiding officer over the joint session of Congress, I possessed unilateral authority to reject Electoral College votes. And I heard this week that President Trump said I had the right to ‘overturn the election.’ President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election.” (emphasis added)

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Analysis: Wisconsin Among the Top Governor’s Races to Watch This Year

Admin

Democrats four years ago rode a blue wave to governors’ mansions across the country, flipping Republican-held seats in the Midwest, Northeast and West alike.

Now, however, many of those governors face Republican challengers amid a political environment that looks potentially promising for the GOP, meaning that contentious races may lie ahead in some of the nation’s most pivotal battleground states. Republicans have already had two strong showings in states that lean Democratic, flipping the governor’s seat in Virginia and coming surprisingly close in New Jersey, a state that voted for President Joe Biden by 16 points in 2020.

Governors in less competitive states are also facing primary challengers from the left and right, making for multiple bitter, closely-followed primaries between candidates from different wings of the same party.

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Trump Confidant Kerik Surrenders Memos to January 6 Panel, Vows to ‘Eviscerate’ Democrat Narrative

Admin

Then-President Donald Trump’s team assembled a 10-day pressure campaign in December 2020 hoping to shame governors and state legislators into officially investigating allegations of Election 2020 irregularities, according to memos newly turned over to Congress by former New York Police Commissioner and Trump confidant Bernard Kerik.

The strategy called for “protests” at governors’ mansions and the homes of politicians ranging from secretaries of states to “weak” congressional members in key battleground states, the memos show.

The documents, turned over Friday night under subpoena to the House’s Jan. 6 commission, are remarkable in part because they show the primary focus of the Trump team leading up to the Jan. 6 certification of the 2020 vote – an event that turned violent when pro-Trump protesters stormed the Capitol – was to get “support for hearings” to probe allegations of voting irregularities Trump’s team had received but not vetted.

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Strikes Down State’s School Mask Mandate

Cooper Moran

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday ruled to strike down Governor Tom Wolf’s statewide mask mandate for schools.

The challengers of the mandate, including Pennsylvania Senate President pro tempore Jake Corman (R-Centre) and State Representative Jesse Topper (R-Bedford), argued that the decision of masking should be left to local school boards or parents, not the state government.

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Santa Shortage Spurs Pennsylvania Lawmaker to Consider Tax Credit

The Center Square

A shortage of Santas this holiday season prompted a Pennsylvania state representative to propose a tax credit for those who suit up, as well as the businesses that employ Old Saint Nick.

Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Susquehanna, posted a memoranda on the House website this week seeking co-sponsors for legislation he said is aimed at the revelation recently highlighted in media reports.

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Pennsylvania House Committee Releases Public-Drawn Congressional Redistricting Map

The Center Square

The Pennsylvania House State Government Committee has unveiled a preliminary map for new congressional districts, selected from one of 19 submitted by the public.

Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, chair of the State Government Committee, said a map submitted by Lehigh County resident Amanda Holt was selected because it was crafted without political influence, met constitutional standards and limited splits of townships and municipalities, among other factors.

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Bail Calculator Developed by Leftist Billionaire Used for Accused Waukesha Murderer Also Used in Two Pennsylvania Counties

Bradley Vasoli

Two Pennsylvania counties use the same lenient bail-calculation system that is used in Milwaukee County, WI and that is now being scrutinized in the wake of the Nov. 21 Waukesha Christmas-parade massacre.

Suspect Darrell E. Brooks Jr. faces homicide charges for killing six people at the holiday celebration with his car. Earlier that month, prosecutors handling a case of physical abuse and vehicular assault regarding Brooks asked a court to set bail bond for the defendant at a mere $1,000, to which the court agreed.

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Pennsylvania Teacher, NEA Director Wants Unvaccinated Shot

Peter D'Abrosca

A teacher at a Pennsylvania high school is in hot water after wishing death upon those unvaccinated against COVID-19 in a now-deleted Facebook post. 

“Screw this guy and screw them all who are all about religious exemptions because they don’t want anyone to tell them what to do,” General McAlane High School English teacher Mollie Mumau said on Facebook. “People tell you what to do all the time, and you do it. This is such BS. “He and his ilk deserve whatever comes their way, including job losses, getting sick, and perhaps dying from the virus. But in the meantime, he’s going to put all the people around him in danger.”

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Report: Pennsylvania Taxpayers Spend Tens of Millions on Government Lobbying

The Center Square
People shaking hands

A Pennsylvania government watchdog group is highlighting how the incestuous relationship between local government entities and lobbyists is costing taxpayers millions of dollars. The Commonwealth Foundation also is supporting legislation designed to put an end to the practice.

The Commonwealth Foundation issued a report Monday that reveals Pennsylvania taxpayers paid at least $42 million in lobbying expenses between 2007 and 2020 to advocate for more government spending, though the actual cost is likely substantially more.

The foundation sent public information requests to 1,518 government entities to collect data on taxpayer-funded lobbying, which involves boroughs, cities, counties, school districts and state agencies that hire lobbyists or pay dues to associations to lobby other areas of government.

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Majority of School Board Associations Have Distanced Themselves from National Organization

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Since the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to the White House equating the acts of concerned parents at local school board meetings to “domestic terrorism and hate crimes” and requesting federal intervention, the majority of state chapters of the organization have either left or distanced themselves from the NSBA.

There are 49 state chapters that paid dues to the NSBA before the Sept. 29 letter, which sparked backlash from parents, lawmakers and education leaders. Since then, 27 state school board associations have distanced themselves from the NSBA, while 17 state associations have taken further action, according to data compiled by Parents Defending Education (PDE).

The NSBA apologized for the letter and removed it from its website.

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Pennsylvania Governor Blocks Conceal-Carry Without a License

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed legislation that would have allowed residents to carry a concealed firearm without a license, claiming the measure would exacerbate gun violence in the commonwealth.

“This legislation removes the requirement that an individual obtain a license, and with it, the ability of law enforcement to conduct a background investigation,” Wolf said. “Removal of the licensing background investigation will hinder the ability of law enforcement to prevent individuals who should not be able to carry a firearm concealed from doing so.

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Philadelphia Republican Election Official Al Schmidt to Resign

Cooper Moran

Republican Al Schmidt, who is the only GOP member with a seat on Philadelphia’s election board, announced on Tuesday that he will resign from his position.

Schmidt, who has received harsh criticism from former President Donald Trump, is accepting a position as president and CEO of The Committee of Seventy.

The commissioner will step down in the middle of his third term.

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Former GOP Rep. Barletta: I Am Running for Keystone State Governor to Undo Wolf’s Mismanagement of COVID-19, Crime, Economy & Schools

Neil W. McCabe

The former Republican congressman running for governor of Pennsylvania told The Star News Network drove him to run for governor after watching families and businesses suffer under Gov. Thomas W. Wolf and his pandemic policies.

“Actually, watching how Governor Wolf mismanaged the pandemic,” said Louis J. “Lou” Barletta, who left his House seat to challenge Democratic Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr., in 2018. Wolf is term-limited and cannot run for a third term.

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Head of Envoy Sage Promises Unbiased Investigation of Pennsylvania Elections

Bradley Vasoli
Woman voting at booth

In a call with reporters this week, the president of the firm selected to conduct a probe of recent elections in Pennsylvania promised a nonpartisan effort to determine what facets of election security in the Keystone State need improvement.

“We have no preconceived notions of what we will or will not find,” said Steven Lahr, president of Dubuque, IA-based Envoy Sage. “The facts, as they are gathered, both digital and physical, will drive our investigative services. We will handle all concerns, data or information presented by the citizens of the Commonwealth through the [investigation] website, or to us by the committee, with fidelity, due diligence and the utmost discretion.”

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Legislation Expands Options for Pennsylvania Home-School Students

The Center Square

The Pennsylvania House has advanced legislation introduced by Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford, to expand educational offerings for home-school students.

House Bill 1041 amends the Public School Code of 1949 to permit home education students to take advantage of their local high school by attending up to four academic courses in a school day and participating in co-curricular activities. They also would have access to programs offered at career and technical education centers.

Pennsylvania home-school students currently are permitted to participate in extracurricular activities at the high school in their district.

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Bill to Streamline Campaign Finance Reporting Gets Pennsylvania Senate Approval

The Center Square

Legislation authored by Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, to bring transparency and efficiency to Pennsylvania’s campaign finance reporting system was approved by the state Senate.

Under Senate Bill 140, all candidates for office and political action committees will be required to file with the secretary of the commonwealth by utilizing the Pennsylvania Department of State’s online filing system to provide campaign finance reports.

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‘It’s a Felony:’ A New Lawsuit, with Video Evidence, Alleges Delaware County, Pennsylvania Election Officials Destroyed Voting Records

Bradley Vasoli

A lawsuit alleging multiple violations of federal and state election laws as well as Pennsylvania’s “Right to Know” statute was filed in Pennsylvania Wednesday night, according to sources familiar with the litigation.

In early 2021, a whistleblower working for the Delaware County Bureau of Elections began inquiring why it was apparent to her that multiple documents pertaining to the Nov. 3, 2020 elections were being destroyed in the southeastern Pennsylvania county, the sources said. The name of the whistleblower has not yet been made public.

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Pennsylvania Lawmakers Consider Dumping Daylight Savings Time

The Center Square
Russ Diamond

Pennsylvania state Rep. Russ Diamond says it’s time to “stop the madness of changing clocks twice a year” and permanently place the Keystone State on Eastern Standard Time.

Lawmakers in the General Assembly’s State Government Committee discussed his plan to ditch Daylight Savings Time in a hearing last week.

“The general consensus among Pennsylvanians is they’re tired of changing clocks,” Diamond, R-Lebanon, told his colleagues on the committee.

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Pennsylvania Republicans Want to Create a New Bureau of Election Audits

Wisconsin Daily Star Staff
Pennsylvania Capitol Building

Pennsylvania Republicans want to create a new Bureau of Election Audits to conduct result-confirming audits of every election, as well as performance audits of elections operations, systems and processes at least every five years.

House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, laid out the legislation during a hearing in the General Assembly’s State Government Committee this week, arguing the current system of allowing county election offices to audit themselves is not sufficient.

Local election officials “must be held to a standard of accountability,” Cutler said.

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Amidst Concerns of Election Irregularities, Commonwealth Court Recount Begins in Pennsylvania

Bradley Vasoli

Amidst public concerns of electoral irregularities in Pennsylvania, a recount will decide the outcome of the Commonwealth Court contest between Republican Drew Crompton and Democrat Lori A. Dumas.

Based on unofficial returns published by the Pennsylvania Department of State, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Dumas now leads Superior Court Judge Crompton by 16,804 votes out of more than 2.5 million votes cast for either of the two. That’s a margin of about a third of one percent, within the 0.5 percent difference that prompts a recount under Pennsylvania’s Act 97 of 2004. 

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Bill to Require Post-Election Audits in Pennsylvania Advances with Support of Philadelphia Democrat

Bradley Vasoli

State Rep. Regina Young (D-PA-Philadelphia) voted with all Republican House State Government Committee members this week in favor of a bill to require post-election audits. 

The legislation to verify the accuracy of election outcomes will thus go before the full Pennsylvania House with at least a modicum of bipartisanship, making it more difficult for Democrats to call the bill merely “a reactionary thing being done because of the last election,” as Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) did at the committee meeting.

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