PITTSBURGH, Pa. (PTTP)– The Pennsylvania state Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments regarding the constitutionality of a law passed in 2019 that allowed no excuse for mail-in voting for the 2020 election.
Act 77, which was overwhelmingly supported by both Democrat and Republican legislatures, widely expanded mail-in voting by overriding previous laws requiring specific excuses to vote by mail. However, some Republican state representatives that voted for Act 77 brought forth litigation to throw out this type of no-excuse mail-in voting. This act comes after former President Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election.
“The case isn’t about whether mail voting is, per se, a bad policy idea. The case is really about whether mail voting is permitted in Pennsylvania under the Pennsylvania constitution. Our position is that the Pennsylvania constitution needs to be amended to bring mail voting to Pennsylvania, and if that were to occur you could have mail voting,” said Wally Zimolong, one of the lead attorneys for the case.
The issue wound up at the Supreme Court after the state’s Commonwealth Court ruled Act 77 “unconstitutional” in January. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration appealed the 3-2 ruling to the Supreme Court.
If the state Supreme Court deems Act 77 as “unconstitutional”, some 2.5 million Pennsylvanians would be impacted as they would either have to apply for an absentee ballot or vote in person.
There is no indicator for how quickly the Supreme Court will decide the case, but attorneys for the case expect a decision to come in by the end of the month. Until then, Pennsylvanians are held in suspense while their ability to vote by mail hangs in the balance.