Spencer Finley

Politics Editor

sjf5814@psu.edu

Recently, several changes have been proposed to the PA State Constitution. According to WESA, an National Public Radio member station based out of Pittsburgh, constitutional amendments have been used as a tool used by the Republican Party to circumvent a veto from the governor; last year, three proposed amendments were sent to voters, with two limiting the power of a governor to declare a state of emergency after the State Republican Party sued to stop shutdown orders from Governor Tom Wolf and lost on the grounds that the state legislature could not vote to overturn emergencies declared by the executive. Republicans in the legislature then approved a constitutional amendment which limited the governor’s power to declare a state of emergency and renew the state of emergency once declared. 

The process of amending the PA State Constitution is very different from the process of amending the United States Constitution. While amending the United States Constitution requires either the approval of 2/3 of both houses of Congress and ratification by 2/3 of the states or a convention called by 3/4 of the states, amending the PA State Constitution is significantly easier; all that is needed is the approval of a simple majority in each part of the legislature, and after receiving the approval of the legislature, it is sent to voters for approval. According to WESA, voters almost always approve constitutional amendments, partly because referendum on constitutional amendments typically occur in lower-turnout elections like odd-year state and municipal elections. 

According to WESA, there are currently at least five proposed amendments to the State Constitution that are expected to make it to voters for their approval next year. One of these would allow the State Legislature to overturn an executive order or administrative guidance for the state bureaucracy, which is a measure proposed in response to pandemic regulations from Governor Wolf, as well as his proposition that Pennsylvania join a number of other states to limit carbon emissions.

Two of the proposed amendments would put in place two items that Governor Wolf has already vetoed, including one of which would require a government-issued ID to vote, a measure which has been sharply criticized by voting rights groups because it would disproportionately disenfranchise voters who are part of a marginalized group. The other proposed amendment has also been criticized by voting rights groups, and would require that the PA Auditor General regularly review voter registration rolls and elections to ensure their accuracy.

Others of the proposed amendments are designed to give the Republican Party an undue advantage in the judicial system as well. One of the proposed Amendments would take elections for the state Appellate Court and turn them from statewide elections to district-level elections, which can be gerrymandered more easily and can therefore be used to give State Republicans an unfair advantage. 

Democrats have criticized these constitutional amendments as partisan power grabs and as efforts to get around the executive veto. Republicans have claimed that they are giving voters greater input into the electoral process. However, it is worth noting that in 2021, only about a quarter of eligible registered voters turned out and voted on the three proposed constitutional amendments, all of which passed.

However, not all of the amendments are extremely partisan. For example, an amendment proposed by Republican State Senator David Argall of Schuylkill County would have changed the way the elections for Lieutenant Governor work, an idea which has enjoyed broad bipartisan support.