{"id":2238955,"date":"2024-05-07T08:10:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T12:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-democrat-bill-to-process-mail-ballots-before-election-day-is-headed-to-pennsylvanias-gop-run-senate\/"},"modified":"2024-05-07T08:16:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T12:16:03","slug":"a-democrat-bill-to-process-mail-ballots-before-election-day-is-headed-to-pennsylvanias-gop-run-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-democrat-bill-to-process-mail-ballots-before-election-day-is-headed-to-pennsylvanias-gop-run-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"Democratic Bill for Early Processing of Mail Ballots Advances to Pennsylvania&#8217;s Republican-Controlled Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fa-democrat-bill-to-process-mail-ballots-before-election-day-is-headed-to-pennsylvanias-gop-run-senate%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2238955&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Pennsylvania House Democrats passed a bill allowing early processing \u200bof \u2062mail-in ballots before Election Day, moving it to the Republican-led state Senate.\u2063 Republican concerns about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ga-poll-watcher-it-expert-non-trump-supporter-affidavit-sudden-surge-of-20000-mail-in-votes-for-biden-in-early-hours-on-nov\/\" title=\"GA Poll Watcher, IT Expert, Non-Trump Supporter Affidavit: Sudden Surge of 20,000 Mail-In-Votes For Biden In Early Hours On Nov\">election integrity<\/a> were raised, with\u2063 Senate rejection of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/w-h-o-head-tedros-joe-biden-style-travel-bans-punish-africa-for-doing-the-right-thing\/\" title=\"W.H.O. Head Tedros: Joe Biden-Style Travel Bans Punish Africa 'for Doing the Right Thing'\">similar provisions<\/a> in the past. The bill lacks key safeguards like voter ID \u200crequirements, drawing criticism from Republicans like Sen. Dush and House Minority Leader Cutler.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure>                         <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>After Pennsylvania House Democrats passed a bill that would allow mail-in ballots to be processed before Election Day, the bill heads to the Republican-led state Senate. A Republican Senate leader expressed concerns to The Federalist that the bill\u2019s provisions would endanger \u201chonest, transparent and secure elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/cfdocs\/legis\/PN\/Public\/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&#038;sessYr=2023&#038;sessInd=0&#038;billBody=H&#038;billTyp=B&#038;billNbr=0847&#038;pn=3018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HB 847<\/a> was passed along party lines, 102-99, on Wednesday and would permit county election officials to begin opening and counting mail-in ballots and absentee ballots seven days before Election Day. The results would be tabulated on Election Day. <\/p>\n<p>But Chairman of the Senate State Government Committee Sen. Cris Dush said in a statement to The Federalist that the Senate had previously rejected a similar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-happening-pennsylvania-state-legislature-files-resolution-disputes-statewide-2020-election-results\/\" title=\"It's Happening: Pennsylvania State Legislature Files Resolution -- DISPUTES STATEWIDE 2020 ELECTION RESULTS\">pre-canvassing<\/a> provision in March due to concerns of \u201cpre-canvassing endangering honest, transparent and secure elections which remain the cornerstone of our Constitutional Republic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust like House Bill 847, this measure also failed to include proven election integrity safeguards such as constitutional Voter ID requirements or proof of citizenship for voter registration,\u201d Dush continued. \u201cWith the next major election only months away, I will not commit to advancing any so-called election modification legislation that does not contain proven election integrity safeguards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other Republicans also expressed concern about the legislation, with House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler saying the legislation would complicate election workers\u2019 tasks since they would have to prepare for Election Day while also pre-canvassing, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/penncapital-star.com\/campaigns-elections\/pa-house-answers-county-election-officials-request-for-more-time-to-count-mail-in-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pennsylvania Capital Star<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHouse Democrats pushing this bill forward today may make government easier for government, but it does not respond to what the vast majority of Pennsylvanians believe is needed to make our elections better and more secure,\u201d Cutler said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.repcutler.com\/News\/34119\/Latest-News\/Cutler-House-Democrats-Continue-to-Fail-Pennsylvanians-on-Election-Reform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a> on Wednesday. Cutler said Democrats are refusing to advance other reforms like voter ID and signature verification despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinas-corporate-allies-are-giving-enes-kanter-the-silent-treatment\/\" title=\"China's Corporate Allies Are Giving Enes Kanter the Silent Treatment\">widespread popular support<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Republicans also argue the proposed bill would make it easier for ballot counters to leak the results of mail voting early, which could manipulate voters\u2019 decisions on Election Day. Democrats <a href=\"https:\/\/www.centredaily.com\/news\/politics-government\/article288252135.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">say<\/a> the legislation prohibits such conduct. But as Republicans <a href=\"https:\/\/penncapital-star.com\/campaigns-elections\/pa-house-answers-county-election-officials-request-for-more-time-to-count-mail-in-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">point out<\/a>, there are no consequences for ballot counters or observers who disclose the results of mail-in ballots before in-person voting ends.<\/p>\n<p>A bill with a similar pre-canvassing provision \u2014 but which also included a voter ID requirement \u2014 was passed in 2021 by the legislature but was vetoed by Democrat then-Gov. Tom Wolf over its voter ID section. The Keystone State drastically expanded its mail-in voting system in 2019 and saw an explosion of mail-in ballots during the 2020 election.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-image data-amount=\"5\">\n<h2>Popular<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\"><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A bill permitting pre-Election Day processing of mail-in ballots advances from the Pennsylvania House Democrats to the GOP-controlled state Senate. A Republican Senate leader voiced apprehensions to The Federalist, citing potential risks to election integrity. The partisan vote on HB 847 stood at 102-99<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2238956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/14829998574_ea95a33cb9_k-e1714684341883.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2238955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/14829998574_ea95a33cb9_k-e1714684341883.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2238955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2238956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2238955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2238955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2238955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}