Join us - Hot Topic: Voter Beware of PA Constitutional Ballot Questions on Friday, March 11, 2022 at Noon via Zoom. A panel of experts will discuss and answer questions on the practice of putting constitutional amendment questions on the ballot.
The PA legislature is increasingly trying to circumvent the Governor’s right of veto and its own inability to garner bipartisan support to override those vetoes. By proposing dozens of constitutional changes that will appear on ballots, the legislature is attempting to implement partisan policies while subverting executive branch powers.
Strategically inserting a ballot question can nearly guarantee approval. Voters have rejected only six of 49 amendments since 1968, the year the current state constitution went into effect. The overwhelming majority were presented in off-year elections, when only a small fraction of eligible voters (often as few as 25%) go to the polls.
This Hot Topic presentation is intended to raise voter knowledge and awareness about the process, importance and possible consequences of constitutional ballot questions and the increasing attempts to misuse them by the PA legislature as a political strategy for partisan gain. Current examples will be provided as well as information about initiatives to provide oversight and publicity.
The Presenters are:
Moderator: Jodine Mayberry, LWV CDC Legislative Advocacy Chair
Panelists:
- Susan Gobreski, LWV PA Board and Government Policy Chair
- Danielle Ohl, Capitol Reporter, Spotlight PA
- Kadida Kenner, Executive Director of The New Pennsylvania Project & Co-Founder Why Courts Matter - PA
- Khalif Ali, Executive Director, Common Cause Pennsylvania
The Hot Topic presentation is FREE but to receive the Zoom link via email you MUST Register. You can submit questions for the presenters in advance with your registration.
TO REGISTER and Submit Questions Click Here
Event Contact - Ralf Graves, Civic Education Chair ralfgraves [at] comcast.net