News & Brews July 20, 2022
Grove calls on Wolf to work out election reform
Rep. Seth Grove, head of the House State Government Committee, released his third report on the problems facing Pennsylvania’s election system, many which have garnered national attention. From PennLive: “The fixes that his caucus has in mind were initially included in House Bill 1300 that passed both legislative chambers last June. It included such provisions as ones allowing early in-person voting, making it easier for disabled people to vote, and giving counties what they most want – more time before Election Day to begin preparing mail-in ballots for counting to ensure timelier election results.” Gov. Wolf vetoed HB 1300. Rep. Grove called on Gov. Wolf to meet with him to work out these issues. “Instead of having nice things, we have chaos,” Grove said. Read more in City & State.
Making the switch
Republicans have the lead over Democrats when it comes to voters changing party registration nationwide and in Pennsylvania. PennLive reports on a national analysis showing more than 1 million voters in 43 states switched their voter registration to Republican. And using data from the Pa. Dept. of State, they report that “In Pennsylvania in 2022, more than 35,000 people officially switched their political allegiance from Democrat to Republican as of July 11. This is more than three times the number of people who switched their voter registration from Republican to Democrat.”
With approval ratings like these
Yesterday we wrote about the crisis in hiring teachers for public schools, but the real crisis for public education might instead be Americans’ faith in the system. PennLive reports that a recent Gallup poll shows “only 28 percent of U.S. residents have ‘a lot of confidence’ in public education.” Ouch. I’m sure this will lead to plenty of thoughtful introspection by the teachers unions demands for more tax dollars.
Jim ‘I’ll be happy when I’m not mayor’ Kenney
As homicides in Philadelphia continue to climb—there are 300 already this year—Mayor Kenney has again gone tone deaf to the needs and concerns of those in his city. When asked by a reporter if he had met with any victims’ families as mayor (there have been 1,500 killed since he was elected) he said he had not. And when a reporter clarified, Mayor Kenney reiterated that he had not visited with families of homicide victims. The Inquirer gives full quotes and context here. The mayor’s office has since attempted to walk back the (multiple) statements by the mayor.
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