News & Brews November 2, 2022
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State Supreme Court rules on undated ballots
On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling, said that Pennsylvania officials cannot count votes from mail-in or absentee ballots that lack accurate, handwritten dates on the return envelopes. PennLive reports, “The justices split 3-3 on whether making the envelope dates mandatory under state law would violate provisions of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that immaterial errors or omissions should not be used to prevent voting.” You can read much more about the ruling, the status of ballots that have already been mailed in, and which justices joined together on the ruling here. The Honest Elections Project praised the ruling, saying “Today’s court ruling is a major win for Pennsylvanians and for the rule of law. …Pennsylvania law clearly requires that every mail ballot be dated and signed. That simple, straightforward rule helps to stop late and illegal voting without burdening anyone’s right to vote.”
New polling in Senate races
A new poll was released by the Morning Call/Muhlenberg College and…it’s still a close one, folks! Dr. Mehmet Oz and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman were tied at 47% with with 3% preferring neither candidate and 2% not sure.
“The Redstone State?”
Crime, gas prices, energy, and voter discontent. City Journal takes a close look at the issues facing not just Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but Pennsylvania’s small cities as well. “Just days before Election Day, whether in northeastern Pennsylvania or even pockets of suburban Philadelphia, voter discontent—especially on economic and public-safety concerns—is directed toward Democrats. Their view of the Democrats this year echoes Pennsylvanians’ impression of Republicans in 2006: ‘doctrinaire and single-minded.'” Read more.
Due process at Pa. universities
How are some of Pennsylvania’s top universities when it comes to offering students due process? The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) released their annual report examining the top 53 colleges and universities in the country. You can read a breakdown from Reason, which reports that FIRE, “finds that some college campuses made modest improvements to their campus disciplinary procedures following the adoption of the Trump-era revisions,” to Title IX, but current Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has promised to decimate those standards.. Check out how Pa. schools such as Penn State, Villanova, Carnegie Mellon, and more fared here.