PA Constitutional Amendments Moving Forward
As you may be already aware, Harrisburg passed a budget and [on July 8] passed an omnibus constitutional amendment package #SB106, a couple different constitutional amendments that are bunched together into one super legislation (usually done to save time or to cause people to vote a certain way). The omnibus constitutional package includes legislation that:
Guarantees there is no right to abortion or funding for one
Creates mandatory election audits
Mandates that voters present Identification at polls
Places restrictions on the governor's ability to use regulatory action
Allows each gubernatorial candidate pick their running mate
This package is designed to step around the governor and just passed the House. This means it just needs to pass next session before it is on the ballot for all Pennsylvanians to vote on. Now, if I were a betting man, I would say that Harrisburg is going to pass it before the May 16th, 2023 primary in order to have it appear on the ballot in an off year--which usually means a low voter turnout in general and fewer independents voting. Harrisburg did that exact same thing in 2021 and passed all of their constitutional amendments.
This means that we need to win in November to vote this down, we need to be getting people ready to turn out and vote on May 16th next year, and we need people to get active because there is less than a year before some basic human rights are stripped away from our constitution.
Let me be clear, if this package was "part of the status quo" then it wouldn't exist in the first place. If Pennsylvanians were behind this, the Senate would not have voted on it in the middle of the night last night, nor would the House had voted on it tonight just like they did 17 years ago when the General Assembly gave itself a pay-raise on July 7, 2005. If anyone that is backing this would have a backbone, they would have debated Rep. Matt Bradford...instead, we had our representative take a swing at inclusive language.
The legislature just passed five constitutional amendments with no hearings, no testimony, no legal review of language, and no public input. They are hoping to sneak this by voters who are just relieved that a budget was passed.
Isaac Riston is a resident of Hanover and is a candidate for District 169, Pennsylvania House of Representatives. www.ristonforpa.com.
Originally Appeared in Hanover for Progress
Editor’s Note: We’re very pleased to introduce a new talent who we hope will write for us from time to time. Isaac Riston is “a renter in Hanover and I’m a floating substitute at Baresville Elementary in South Western School District, though I went to Susquehanna University for my bachelor’s in Business Administration and Public Policy.” He brought this issue of constitutional amendments to the attention of the Facebook group, Hanover for Progress and agreed to allow us to republish it here. DFA has been following partisan constitutional amendments for some time now and this is the first indication we may need to rally to defeat this amendment.