Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
After a 2018 midterm cycle marked by accusations of voter suppression, state lawmakers across the nation, including Pennsylvania, have lined up more than 200 bills aimed at making it easier for people to cast their ballots – and to protect them when they do.
As our friends at Stateline.org report this Monday morning, these bipartisan efforts “aim to bring automatic voter registration, vote-by-mail, or the restoration of voting rights for ex-felons to more than 30 states.
In fact, voter-access bills have outstripped election-integrity bills (think Voter ID) according to a tally by New York University School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice., Stateline reported. Moreover, “high-profile questions over ballot access and the success of ‘pro-voter’ ballot measures in November led to ‘an extraordinary groundswell of support for pro-voter reforms,'” the Brennan Center’s Max Feldman, told Stateline.
Earlier this month, The Reading Eagle ran its own tally of election-reform bills getting teed up for 2019 legislative session in Pennsylvania. Measures ranging from ‘curbside voting,’ and making early and absentee voting easier to redistricting reform are on the docket, the newspaper reported.
On Tuesday, a bipartisan quintet of Pennsylvania state senators, Republicans Mike Folmer, of Lebanon County; Pat Stefano, of Fayette County; Tom Killion of Delaware County; Scott Martin of Lancaster County and Democrat Judy Schwank, of Berks County, are set to roll out their own election reform package.
Those measures include bills addressing absentee ballots; a permanent early voting list; changes to write-in rules; consolidating smaller precincts, and other measures, according to a statement released by Folmer’s office.
The package will also include three Constitutional Amendments regarding absentee ballots, poll workers and separate ballot judicial retention elections, Folmer’s office said.
“We should encourage all Pennsylvanians to be interested and invested in our government; making voting easier and more convenient is the best place to start,” Schwank said in a statement. “Responsibilities and unexpected demands can change your plans, and while meetings and doctor appointments can sometimes be rescheduled, voting cannot.”
Killion added that “reforming how we vote is critical to Pennsylvania’s future. Voting must be convenient and easy for citizens. This package of election reform bills will help achieve that goal.”
The lawmakers will roll out the bills during a 10:30 a.m. newser in the East Wing Media Center.
The rest of the day’s news starts now.
The Inquirer looks at the coming legislative fight over whether to bail-out Pennsylvania’s financially struggling nuclear power sector.
The Daily News’ John Baer thinks it’s time to get rid of the televised spectacle of the State of the Union.
The Post-Gazette wonders whether Attorney General Josh Shapiro will step into the extended divorce between healthcare titans Highmark and UPMC.
A former Pennsylvania police chief has been released from jail, The Tribune-Review reports.
BillyPenn looks at a campaign to bring back Philadelphia’s school counselors, whose ranks were ‘decimated’ five years ago.
The Incline explains how to ‘escape Pittsburgh’s frozen hellscape’ with these convenient underground tunnels across the city.
Here’s a very wintry #Harrisburg Instagram of the Day:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtKZc9mAeDY/
WHYY-FM catches up with federal employees who have returned to work, only to sweat the prospect of another government shutdown.
The Pa. Post’s Emily Previti tallied up the cost of the shutdown in Pennsylvania, a harbinger of what could happen if there’s another one.
People are ‘sick and struggling,’ in Pennsylvania coal country, The Morning Call reports in an in-depth look at the region and its people.
Philly Common Pleas Judge Dan McCaffery (Yes, that McCaffery family) is running for state Superior Court, PoliticsPA reports.
State Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky is (finally) the new head of the House Democratic Campaign Committee, PoliticsPA also reports.
Wall Street is already ‘freaking out’ over 2020, Politico reports.
Roll Call looks at how U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is ‘threading the needle’ on immigration reform.
What Goes On.
The House and Senate both convene at 1 p.m. today.
11:30 a.m., Main Rotunda: “We Choose a Better Path” – delivering petitions about protecting the environment.
1 p.m, Main Rotunda: Legacy of PA’s State Parks and Forests – calling for more funding for operations and maintenance.
2 p.m., Main Rotunda: State Sens. Tony Williams, D-Philadelphia, and Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, are joined by the ACLU for an event on probation reform.
WolfWatch.
Gov. Tom Wolf heads to Baltimore today, where participate in a 7 p.m. panel discussion on the “Divided Nation, United States” at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theater.
What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition).
State Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Montgomery, holds a 5 p.m. reception at Rubicon on North Street. Admission $500 or $1,000, dependent, as ever, on the intensity of your desire to bask in his reflected glow.
Heavy Rotation.
Here’s a bouncy fave from The Coral to get your working week rolling.
And now you’re up to date.
John L. Micek 