News & Brews June 9, 2025
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Supreme Court won’t hear Pa. mail-in ballot case
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Republicans’ request to take up a challenge to a Pa. Supreme Court ruling “that voters can still cast a vote at their polling place on Election Day if their mail-in ballot was rejected for technical reasons, despite a state law saying such votes ‘shall not be counted’ if the mail-in ballot was timely received,” The Hill reports. Republicans argued that the state Supreme Court’s ruling was an “indefensible distortion of the General Assembly’s laws.” Of course, the Democrat majority on our high court has spent the last several years engaging in such a distortion when it comes to our election laws. So, there’s that.
DNC set to vote on whether to void its own election
It’s ironic, really. The Democratic National Committee is set to vote this week on whether to void a previous vote the committee held for vice chairs. It seems when Dems don’t like the results of an election, they try to engineer different results. (Did Kamala Harris get one primary vote, for example?) The effort to overturn the election technically targets Vice Chair David Hogg, whom the party sees as a threat. But if the election is thrown out, it would also affect the other vice-chair, Democrat Pa. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta.
Details still lacking on U.S. Steel/Nippon deal
WESA reports that the June 18 deadline for the U.S. Steel/Nippon Steel sale is fast approaching, but details on the agreement remain lacking. “White House spokesperson Kush Desai told WESA on Sunday that the administration ‘will soon announce additional details about the deal to revitalize U.S. Steel and keep the iconic company in America.’ But for now, details remain murky.”
Senate advances bill that would limit RTK
Last week, the Pa. Senate State Government Committee voted 9-2 to advance legislation that would target so-called “vexatious” Right-to-Know requesters. These are requesters who supposedly “overwhelm” state agencies with lots of requests. The bill would allow agencies to block these requesters from filing Right-to-Know requests for a year. But WESA reports that media representatives are concerned the bill “would limit the work of journalists.” There is also concern that agencies might label as “vexatious” someone who is simply persisting in fighting for transparency. As I’ve said before, if we’re going to have a conversation on targeting citizens who submit RTK requests, we should also talk about firing ‘vexatious deniers,’ who are government open records officers who repeatedly deny access to public information.
Committee to hold hearing today on preserving benefit integrity
The Pa. House Republican Policy Committee will hold a hearing this morning at 8:00 a.m. “to examine ways to safeguard Pennsylvania’s social benefit programs and ensure they are available and accessible by those who truly need the support.” The hearing comes as lawmakers on the Left are seeking to block proposed reforms that would protect benefits for those who qualify on the basis of need. (For an example of how the current system harms individuals who need benefits, read this.) The hearing will be live streamed here.