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Elections

All Pennsylvania voters will be asked to consider four ballot questions.

You’re invited! A guide and free reader Q&A on what you need to know before the May primary election.

by Spotlight PA Staff

Election officials hope Democrats and Republicans can finally agree on giving counties more time to process mail ballots before Election Day.

Key GOP lawmaker eyes photo ID, signature matching as Pa. considers voting changes

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

All Pennsylvania voters — yes, that includes independents and minor-party members — will be asked to consider four ballot questions on May 18.

Your guide to Pa.’s 2021 primary ballot questions

by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA

Amending the Pennsylvania Constitution is a lengthy process that ends at the ballot box, where voters are asked to make consequential decisions based on a few lines of text.

Ballot questions should be clear, but two written by the Wolf administration don’t pass the test

by Sarah Anne Hughes

State officials have touted the results of the pilot audit as evidence the November election was administered without error. And while it does suggest a high degree of confidence in the outcome, it cannot answer some of the finer questions about how the election was run.

Pa. audit confirms Biden got more votes than Trump, but can’t tell us much else

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

Local officials in Pennsylvania are facing another election without extra time to process mail ballots, likely leading to delayed results and putting increased pressure on counties reeling from the most expensive contest ever.

Counties will again be unable to process mail ballots early during Pa.’s primary election

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

The proposal was inspired by former Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, who had a "painfully distant" relationship with Gov. Tom Wolf.

Voters may never again get to choose Pa.’s lieutenant governor candidates

by Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA

Timothy DeFoor (right) became the first Republican in more than two decades to win the row office, a major victory for the party.

Pa.’s new auditor general says his election was fair, but he won’t talk about the others

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar announced she would step down after it was revealed the Department of State failed to advertise a constitutional amendment to create a two-year window so adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse can sue the perpetrators and institutions that covered it up.

What the exit of Pa.’s top election official means for the future of voting

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

Gov. Tom Wolf used his veto power to nix a record 19 bills passed by the legislature in 2020 — 15 more than he did in 2019.

Pa. enacted 140 laws last year. Only 27 of them addressed the coronavirus.

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA

Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar on Thursday defended her actions during the 2020 election, which have been upheld in the courts, and called on Republicans to end their 'lies.'

Top Pa. election official calls for end to ‘lies’ as GOP launches 2020 hearings

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

Law enforcement has erected orange fencing and deployed armed officers outside the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

Law enforcement in Pa. preparing for possible unrest despite ‘no specific threats’ to the Capitol

by Joseph Darius Jaafari of Spotlight PA and Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA

Sen. Jim Brewster (D., Allegheny)

Federal judge rules in favor of Democratic Pa. Senate candidate GOP refused to seat

by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA

State Sen. Doug Mastriano is facing calls to resign from state Democrats over his attendance at a rally in Washington that led to the mob attack on the Capitol.

A Pa. Republican lawmaker who marched to the Capitol before the mob attack is facing calls to resign

by Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA

People shelter in the House gallery as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Top Pa. lawmakers who rejected election results denounce U.S. Capitol mob

by Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA

The letter signed by President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (seen here, center) said Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar “usurped legislative authority."

Republican leaders in Pa. Senate ask Congress to delay Electoral College count

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

In 2021, election officials want their voices to be heard.

Election officials want a say in Pa.’s voting reforms, but politics may get in the way

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

Sen. Jim Brewster

GOP leaders in Pa. Senate will refuse to seat Democrat certified by state as winner

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

Some sites in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia (where voters are shown here, at Tilden Middle School) saw long lines of voters who wanted to request a mail ballot without having to risk U.S. Postal Service problems.

Satellite offices gave Pa. voters more options to cast early ballots in person. Were they worth it?

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

President Donald Trump is still seeking to overturn Pennsylvania’s election results in the courts.

As he seeks to overturn Pa.’s election, Trump invites GOP senators to White House lunch

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

The review means more work for election officials, many of whom are burnt out and have a reduced staff during the holidays while they begin preparing for the municipal primaries in 2021.

Thousands of ballots will be audited as part of Pa.’s post-election review

by Marie Albiges for Spotlight PA

“Mail-in voting has become like a second election that we have to run, that we never had to run before,” Lycoming County Elections Director Forrest Lehman said. “It has almost doubled the workload, and you know, nobody’s salaries have doubled at the same time.”

Pa. election officials are burnt out and leaving their jobs after 2020 ‘nightmare’

by Marie Albiges for Spotlight PA and Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

More than 3.1 million people in Pennsylvania applied to vote by mail in November, and the state’s 67 counties processed every request, according to the Department of State. That means a mail ballot should have been sent or delivered to all voters who applied.

Mailed ballots, tight deadlines caused a crunch for Pa. elections officials. Now, comes the reckoning.

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Trump supporters protest outside the Capitol building on Monday, Dec. 14. Twenty electors from across Pennsylvania gathered in Harrisburg today to cast their votes for Joe Biden.

With unusual attention, Pa. presidential electors officially cast votes for Joe Biden

by Marie Albiges for Spotlight PA and Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

The state’s 67 counties will work into next year to tally up election expenses for 2020, the first year Pennsylvania implemented no-excuse mail voting.

The 2020 election cost Pa. counties millions in OT, was most expensive ever, officials say

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave rise to so-called “dark money groups,” which set up as nonprofits and operate with little transparency, not even having to disclose the names of their donors.

Firm ran Pa. senator’s campaign and worked with super PAC to attack opponent, but denies coordination

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

House Speaker Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster) signed onto the letter.

GOP leaders ask Congress to reject Pa.’s electors for Joe Biden

by Marie Albiges for Spotlight PA and Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA

Mail-in ballots are sorted and counted by workers on Election Day in Northampton County. Pennsylvania lawmakers instituted no-excuse mail voting for the first time in 2019.

Pandemic, partisan attacks exposed gaps in Pa.’s new mail-in voting law

by Marie Albiges for Spotlight PA

In the interview Wednesday, interim Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R., Centre) said organizers of the hearing did not adhere to social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines.

‘Mistakes were made’ at maskless election hearing held by COVID-positive lawmaker, Pa. Senate leader says

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

A hearing organized by Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin), one of the chamber’s most conservative members, appears to have violated policies the chamber adopted in the wake of the pandemic.

GOP leadership silent after Pa. senator tests positive for COVID-19 following maskless election event

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA

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