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What other newspapers are saying: Election practices should be more straightforward

The special elections for three Pennsylvania state House of Representatives seats will be held Feb. 7.

That’s what a three-judge Commonwealth Court panel said recently.

As of now, the three Allegheny County seats that are up for grabs will be put before their district voters on the same day. Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, wanted to have the seats of former colleagues and now-U.S. Rep. Summer Lee and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis wait until May while the late Tony DeLuca’s seat would be filled more quickly.

But if you are skeptical about whether that’s where it ends and whether that’s when ballots will be cast, you are forgiven for your lack of faith. The political climate fosters that kind of confusion.

After all, how many times did a court hand down a ruling about the counting of ballots that didn’t have properly dated outer envelopes? They came after the 2020 election. They came surrounding the 2022 primary. They continued right up to the 2022 general election.

In 2019, a case about the Marsy’s Law victim rights amendment on the ballot came down to the wire. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided Nov. 4 that votes on the issue would not be counted because the law didn’t follow the state’s requirement that a ballot question be about a single issue. Voters went to the polls Nov. 5, many of them voting on the question that was already included on the ballot.

Pennsylvanians have become accustomed to court cases regarding elections being a tennis match, with lawsuits and rulings and appeals and reversed decisions flying back and forth so often that it’s hard to know where everything stands.

But on an issue like this, about the simple act of showing up and making a choice about who will represent them in Harrisburg, voters deserve something cut and dried. They should have confidence in something as basic as the date the special election will happen.

The people of these three districts need to have someone in the House speaking on their behalf. It should happen as expediently as possible, with no one from the Legislature or the courts putting a thumb on the scale. It is hard enough to get people to participate in elections. If they are willing to step up and do their part, the process should be as easy as possible to facilitate that participation.

This ruling says that should happen within about a month. But if you don’t want to hold your breath, that’s understandable.

— Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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