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GOP keeps up fight on mail vote rules

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Republican groups joined forces last week to sue Pennsylvania over a mail-in voting policy, in their latest offensive against the state’s election rules.

The Republican National Committee, alongside several other GOP electoral fronts and the state Republican Party, sued the commonwealth for what they claim is uneven policy toward ballot “curing.” A cure refers to a notification that a voter’s ballot has an error, giving the voter a chance to resubmit before a deadline.

GOP anger over ballot fixes dates back at least to the 2020 election, when allies of then-president Donald Trump suggested only Democratic-led counties had sent bad ballots back to voters, granting their party an edge.

In reality, there was no party-line policy on curing – election officials in different counties followed different practices. But GOP leaders claim the lack of a clear state law allows for uneven enforcement and unequal results.

“This lawsuit will ensure that Pennsylvania voters have confidence in their elections and underscores the Republican Party’s commitment to making it easier to vote and harder to cheat in Pennsylvania and nationwide,” GOP chair Ronna McDaniel said in a written statement.

While some Republican officials have claimed outright that their opponents cheat – most famously Trump himself – others express their concerns less directly.

An effort to reverse Act 77, the Pennsylvania law that allows universal mail-in voting, failed last month at the state Supreme Court. A second lawsuit hasn’t succeeded in reversing the law, which some Republicans blamed for their 2020 loss here.

And so far, GOP lawmakers haven’t succeeded in turning it back through legislative means.

Wolf expands voter registration

Meanwhile, Gov. Tom Wolf has tasked more state agencies with registering Pennsylvanians to vote.

In an executive order announced Wednesday, Wolf said seven additional state offices will be expected to offer residents voter registration information. Sites where registration will be available include libraries, state veterans’ homes and state parks, as well as the state Farm Show Complex.

The affected agencies will have to provide envelopes, generic registration forms and provide signs indicating Pennsylvanians can register there, according to the order. It’s part of a process to sign up more residents in time for the November general election, members of Wolf’s administration said.

“With 1.7 million Pennsylvanians who are eligible to vote but are not yet registered, it will be no small task to reach those individuals before the November election,” Acting Secretary of State Leigh M. Chapman said in a written statement.

Lawmaker wants electric car breaks

With more governments nudging buyers to choose electric vehicles, at least one Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to do the same here.

In a memo to colleagues last week, Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, proposed a raft of bills that would offer tax credits, rebates and fee waivers for drivers who choose electric vehicles.

Ciresi’s proposals include a tax rebate to cover 6% of an electric vehicle’s purchase price – effectively canceling out sales tax – and a credit for car charging ports.

“(Even) with better fuel economy, electric and hybrid vehicles often end up financially out-of-reach for too many households, leaving them at risk to gas price volatility,” Ciresi said in his memo.

The federal government has already joined the push for consumers to buy electric vehicles, with last month’s Inflation Reduction Act extending tax credits and offering new benefits for companies and buyers.

Regulators in California recently issued a rule that would ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, while other states already follow California’s more strict emissions rules.

Bill would clear abortion hurdle

While new abortion restrictions appear across the country, some progressive lawmakers are trying to turn back the trend with bills to make the procedure easier to obtain.

Rep. Jessica Benham, D-Allegheny, said recently that she plans to write legislation that would remove a rule that makes abortion patients first get an Rh-factor blood test.

“Time and money are wasted on requirements that do nothing to contribute to patient safety,” Benham said, noting that most states don’t require the test.

While Benham’s bill has no chance of passage in a Republican-controlled Legislature, it’s one of many efforts to remove abortion hurdles in Democratic-leaning states.

Ryan Brown covers statewide politics for Ogden Newspapers. He can be reached at rbrown@altoonamirror.com.

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