Important info for Pennsylvania’s 2021 municipal and judicial elections
Every PA voter can and should vote on these 3 critical amendments. Here’s how I’m voting and why.
My team and I talk to you a looooot about the big elections happening in 2022, but I wanted to make sure you’re in the loop about the important PA municipal and judicial elections happening *this* year.
Those primaries are coming up quickly on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
There are some really *huge* decisions on this ballot, including a few big changes to the Pennsylvania state constitution. It doesn’t matter if you’re a registered Democrat, Republican, Independent, or anything else — every PA voter can (and should) vote on these amendments.
Please give me a moment to share how and why I’m planning on voting on those three questions, and then make sure to request your PA mail-in or absentee ballot if that’s how you plan to vote this year:
I’ll be voting NO on Constitutional Amendment Proposal 1.
The first question on your 2021 PA Primary ballot will ask you whether partisan state legislators (like our dudes in the PA GOP) should be given the authority to terminate a governor’s existing emergency declaration, like the one being used right now to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
If passed, this amendment would let state politicians derail nonpartisan emergency responses enacted by the governor and cause responses to be slowed down, when aid is needed the most. Aid such as additional unemployment benefits, emergency SNAP allotments (which have helped over 500,000 Pennsylvanians over the last year), and important aid to our local communities and governments.
Basically, this would allow members of the PA State Legislature to vote to override urgent and serious emergency declarations made by the governor and slow down response and recovery, all for their own political gain. Like I said, I’ll be voting NO on this one.
Next, I’ll also be voting NO on Constitutional Amendment Proposal 2.
Similar to the first one, this ballot question would strip power from the governor, health experts, and emergency responders in the case of serious emergencies.
If passed, this amendment would automatically terminate a governor’s emergency declaration after just three weeks — regardless of whether the threat was resolved.
While most traditional disaster emergencies (floods/severe weather/etc.) don’t last longer than 90 days, recovery from these emergencies takes far more than 90 days. Extending a disaster emergency allows the recovery phase to proceed without delay and with the greatest support possible from state and federal resources.
If this amendment passes, only the legislature, which we know can be plagued with partisan gridlock and political stunts, would have the power to extend or renew emergencies. I’m a NO on this one also because politics shouldn’t have a role to play in our state’s emergency declarations.
Finally the good part. I’ll be voting hell YES on Constitutional Amendment Proposal 3!
The third question on your 2021 PA Primary ballot asks whether our state constitution should specifically prohibit the denial of equal rights based on race or ethnicity. I think this should be a no-brainer — nobody should be discriminated against based on their ethnicity or their race.
This amendment offers additional protection against laws and policies that would deny communities of color their legal rights. I’m a big yes vote for this one — it’s a big, important step towards ensuring equal rights under the law for *all* Pennsylvanians.
TL;DR: I’ll be voting NO, NO, and YES on the first three questions on my ballot.
These are all crucial questions to answer, so I encourage you to do your own research to figure out what amendments and candidates you’ll be supporting in the upcoming PA municipal and judicial primary on Tuesday, May 18.
