Pennsylvania Politics & News
The Daily Signal covers Pennsylvania politics with comprehensive reporting on state elections, voting laws, energy regulation, and the Keystone State’s critical role in presidential politics.
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news
Pennsylvania Students Protest Pro-Trans Bathroom Policy
High school students in the Keystone State are protesting transgender ideology in their bathrooms. Hundreds of students in the Perkiomen Valley School District north of Philadelphia staged a walkout on Friday, in response to the school board allowing students who identify as transgender to use whichever bathroom they like. A policy barring students who identify as transgender… -
news
Pennsylvania Governor Launches ‘Automatic Voter Registration’ Plan Ahead of 2024
Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that he will implement “automatic voter registration” ahead of the 2024 election. The governor rolled out his plan on National Voter Registration Day to “streamline” the voter-registration process, which he argues will “save taxpayers time and money,” according to an announcement video. Shapiro’s plan will automatically enroll Pennsylvanians in the… -
opinion
Pennsylvania Governor’s Reversal on School Choice Betrays Voters, Children
In a year when the school choice movement has racked up a string of victories in red states, Pennsylvania was on track to become the first state to see a Democratic governor sign a publicly funded school choice policy into law. But the supposed new era of bipartisan support for expanding school choice remains a… -
opinion
Will Teachers Unions’ Political Contributions Prevent School Choice in Pennsylvania?
A well-funded network of government unions stands in opposition to parents, students, and lawmakers eyeballing education reform in Pennsylvania. Until recently, they have cowed and cajoled elected officials into stalling some of the more audacious legislative initiatives. But in the aftermath of the COVID-19 shutdowns and a critical court ruling, the atmosphere may be ripe… -
news
Pennsylvania Children’s Hospital Hires Gender Clinic Social Worker for ‘Revenue’
A Philadelphia children’s hospital cited “potential revenue” as a reason for hiring a gender clinic social worker in 2018, Pennsylvania mother and activist Megan Brock told The Daily Signal. Emails, which Brock obtained, show correspondence between former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine and Dr. Rollyn M. Ornstein, an adolescent medicine specialist at Penn State… -
news
Dr. Oz Lost Pennsylvania by Putting His Head ‘in the Sand’ on Abortion: Pro-Life Leader
Mehmet Oz’s failure to capture a Pennsylvania Senate seat is due, in part, to his refusal to position on abortion in a “mature, deliberative, and principled manner,” a major pro-life leader said on Wednesday. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser applauded those candidates who aggressively defined their own stances on abortion, explained their… -
news
Liberal Groups Aligned With Arabella Advisors Spend Over $1M to Support School Choice Attacks in Pennsylvania
Liberal groups aligned with the Washington consulting firm Arabella Advisors have spent over $1 million to support attacks on school choice in Pennsylvania, joining public employee unions that have pumped tens of thousands of dollars into targeting charter schools. An organization called Education Voters of Pennsylvania has published a series of articles and reports critical… -
news
Lawmakers Want to Know Why Pennsylvania Sent Out 240,000 Unverified Ballots
Almost a quarter of a million ballots were mailed to Pennsylvania voters without verifying their identity, state lawmakers say in a letter seeking answers from the state’s top election official. “According to the data, as of Oct. 21, 2022, a staggering 240,000 ballots are ‘NOT VERIFIED,’” 15 Republicans in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives write… -
news
The Battle Over Abortion Rages on in Pennsylvania as Pro-Lifers March for Life
HARRISBURG, Pa.—The United States Supreme Court may have overturned Roe v. Wade this summer, but pro-life activists across the country know the battle over abortion is far from over. Marshaled by the March for Life, several thousand Pennsylvanians gathered in Harrisburg on a sunny Monday morning in what PennLive.com calls “one of the largest gatherings… -
opinion
A Tale of 2 States: Georgia, Pennsylvania, and the Case for Election Integrity Laws
Georgia held its primary election Tuesday night while Pennsylvania held its primary election over a week ago. The contrast could not be more clear: Georgia held an efficient election where the results were known just hours after polls closed, while Pennsylvania’s Senate result is still in dispute. Between the two states, this year’s elections are… -
opinion
2020’s Nightmare Election Process Comes Back to Haunt Pennsylvania. What Needs to Change.
Once again, the nation is waiting on Pennsylvania to count the votes in a close election. Roughly 1,100 votes separate GOP Senate candidates Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick, with fewer than 10,000 mail-in votes remaining as of Friday. Like 2020, Pennsylvania’s notoriously slow counters are leaving two candidates and millions of voters in limbo. One major cause: Unlike Florida… -
opinion
Pennsylvania College Reins in Free Speech After Hillsdale Professor’s Talk Leaves Left Grumbling
Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, has given us yet another disturbing example of modern American colleges’ disdain for free speech. David Azerrad, a professor at Hillsdale College’s D.C. campus, gave a lecture at Saint Vincent on April 8, “Black Privilege and Racial Hysteria in Contemporary America,” and the speech rubbed Gary Quinlivan the wrong way. Quinlivan is co-director of… -
news
With Future of Roe v. Wade Unknown, Pennsylvania in Battle for Unborn
A battle is raging in Pennsylvania for the lives of unborn babies. If laws aren’t in place to protect the unborn, “we could actually end up in a world where abortion is more extreme in Pennsylvania” should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, Jeremy Samek, senior counsel for Pennsylvania Family Institute, told The Daily… -
opinion
Pennsylvania Power Plant Closures Would Cause Real Harm for Illusory Environmental Gains
Visible from Western Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountain ridges are coal-fired power plants—and their plumes of water vapor—that have been integral to much of the regional economy for 50 years. But maybe not for much longer. Three plants east of Pittsburgh directly employ 550 people and support an estimated 8,100 jobs, according to Power PA Jobs Alliance, a coalition… -
opinion
At Age 25, She Was Just Elected Mayor of Her Tiny Hometown in Pennsylvania
Brianna Howard says she never thought she would run for public office, but when no one else was on the ballot for mayor in her hometown of Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania, she rose to the challenge. Howard ran as a write-in candidate, won, and will serve as mayor of the town for the next four years,… -
news
Pennsylvania Disputes Legal Group’s Finding on ‘Unknown’ Ballots
The office of Pennsylvania’s top election official mocked a conservative legal group’s findings about undelivered and unreturned mail-in ballots in last year’s presidential contest. The Public Interest Legal Foundation last week issued a report asserting that Pennsylvania had 15,175 undeliverable mail-in ballots and 425,606 “unknown” or unaccounted-for ballots. Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by a… -
news
Watchdog: ‘Unknown’ Ballots in Georgia, Pennsylvania Surpass Biden’s Margin of Victory There
Georgia and Pennsylvania, two of the most closely contested states in last year’s presidential election, both logged a high number of unaccounted-for mail-in ballots, according to new reports from an election watchdog group. The Public Interest Legal Foundation determined this week that Pennsylvania had 15,175 undeliverable mail-in ballots and 425,606 “unknown” or unaccounted-for ballots. Another… -
news
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Move to Block Newly Cleared Climate Regulations
No sooner did a Pennsylvania state commission narrowly approve new climate regulations this week than state lawmakers advanced a resolution to prevent those rules from taking effect. The five-member Independent Regulatory Review Commission voted 3-2 on Wednesday to approve “cap and trade” regulations to limit carbon dioxide emissions, endorsed by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a… -
news
Climate Regulations Reach Critical Turning Point in Pennsylvania
If an independent panel votes down proposed regulations to limit carbon dioxide emissions in Pennsylvania, state lawmakers will have added leverage to prevent Gov. Tom Wolf from joining a multistate initiative to address climate change. However, if the panel approves the regulations in a meeting Wednesday, Wolf’s executive agencies likely would gain latitude to move… -
news
Demand After COVID-19 Sparks School Choice Proposals in Pennsylvania
Low-income families in Pennsylvania’s lowest-performing school districts could gain access to tuition assistance for private schools as part of a reform package. Pending legislation would create education savings accounts, into which the state could deposit funds that parents may use to buy education products and services for their children. Such accounts can make private schooling…