State and Federal Political Update – 3/7/22

Congressional Retirement: U.S. Rep. Fred Keller, R-12, has dropped his bid to remain a U.S. Representative after the new congressional map split his current district. Last week, Keller announced that he would challenge U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-9, in the newly drawn 9th Congressional District instead of challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson in the newly drawn 15th District. The new congressional maps selected by the PA Supreme Court drew both into the same district. Keller later said he would not seek reelection if he must face a primary election against another Republican incumbent. Keller accused the PA Supreme Court of overstepping its authority and selecting a map that favors Democrats. Keller was elected in a special election in 2019 and is the newest member of Pennsylvania’s delegation.

Mail-In Voting: Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law will remain in place despite a state judge’s order that would have made it expire in two weeks, the state Supreme Court ruled last Tuesday. The justices issued the order that overturned a Feb. 16 decision by Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt that would have halted the State’s two-year-old voting law. In 2020-21, nearly 5 million votes were cast by mail. About 1.4 million Pennsylvania voters  signed up for permanent mail-in voting notification as of August.

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