Fate of Mail Voting in Pennsylvania in State Supreme Court’s Hands

Preservation of Act 77 — the Pennsylvania Commonwealth’s marquee election reform package from 2019 — is now pending before the state Supreme Court as they consider whether the adoption of no-excuse mail-in voting is permitted under the state’s constitution.

In November 2020, over 2.5 million Pennsylvania voters exercised their right to vote using no-excuse mail in voting — a process supported in 2019 with bipartisan support. To say mail-in voting was popular is an understatement. Millions of Keystone State voters cast their ballots securely via mail, and no cases of widespread fraud were reported.

In January, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled on a challenge filed by some Republican lawmakers that the legislature could not make Act 77 changes like mail-in voting without an amendment to the state constitution and approval by voters. The State Supreme Court, however, will have the final determination on the legality of Act 77 and recently heard arguments on the challenge from attorneys representing Governor Wolf’s administration and the Republican legislators.

Other risks may make voting more difficult in Pennsylvania. According to Kyle Miller of Protect Democracy and Jabari Jones of the West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative, there is uncertainty over legislative districts and a likely shortage of poll workers — particularly if no-excuse mail-in ballots are prohibited in November. Additionally, an expensive and unnecessary “audit” or review of the 2020 election is underway in the state senate, even though the election was certified twice within the past year and fraud claims were disproven. The review is funded exclusively by the Pennsylvania Senate GOP and the process and goal of the review remain unclear.

Protect Democracy’s Miller described the 2020 elections as “the most secure and safe election in Pennsylvania from a critical infrastructure standpoint ever.”

During the oral arguments this week, Justice Kevin M. Dougherty, a Democrat, said, “Let’s be candid. What it really looks like is that maybe some legislators are concerned because the no-excuse balloting, at least recently, shows that maybe one party votes overwhelmingly by mail-in ballot as opposed to another. So maybe this is an attack for supremacy at the ballot.”

It is not certain when the Supreme Court will rule.

Back to Business Pennsylvania organized a joint letter urging the state legislature to support the Commonwealth’s economy and the many businesses that have struggled to recover after the pandemic. Pennsylvania businesses are frustrated by the legislature’s taxpayer-funded attempts to investigate the prior election or measures to make it more difficult for voters to cast their ballots.

Business for America’s PA Policy Director Doug Murray stated, “Mail-in balloting in 2020 was extremely successful — from a voter perspective and election integrity perspective. We will be working with businesses from across Pennsylvania in the coming months to make the business case for voting rights and election security. Pennsylvania businesses seek an accountable and stable state government, and we will continue working with them to educate their employees and customers on their voting rights.”