PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania House is expected to take up the massive election reform bill on Tuesday.
The 146-page election reform bill addresses everything from mail-in ballot signatures to ballot drop-boxes to voter verification.
As a possible preview of floor debate, House speaker Bryan Cutler took the unusual step of reminding representatives of the rules, quoting Thomas Jefferson’s “Manual” for debate: “Freedom of speech in debate does not mean a license to indulge in personal abuses or ridicule.”
Democratic state Rep. Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia put up amendments that were shot down on party lines. She sarcastically addressed a Democratic contention that they have had no say in the legislation.
“Hi, my name’s Joanna McClinton, I’m the leader of the House Democratic Caucus, I’d love to work with you on how we can improve elections,” she said, adding, “We’ve got all these folks on this side of the aisle. All of us are elected. We want to work together on fixing elections.”
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Prime sponsor Seth Grove (R-York County) disputes that and said the legislation makes elections safer and more accessible while modernizing the process.
“Compromise isn’t taking what we like,” he said. “It’s about working together to ensure you have a robust system in place for voters.”
Grove’s amendment, which would have allowed for more ballot drop-boxes based on population, was also shot down.
An amendment that would allow the state House to be part of an election lawsuit with a simple majority vote passed.
State Rep. Todd Stephens (R-Montgomery County) offered an amendment that would give counties the option to start early in-person voting sooner than the bill’s date of 2025, but that was voted down.
Gov. Tom Wolf opposes the bill and plans to veto it.