PHILADELPHIA — The Democratic push to change voting laws fizzled in Washington this month, but Pennsylvania is about to see its own battle on the issue: the governor's race.
This fall's election will almost certainly decide whether significant rollbacks of mail voting and other new restrictions are signed by a new Republican governor — or blocked by a Democratic successor to Gov. Tom Wolf. It's likely to be one of the most high-stakes consequences of the election, one that could ripple into the 2024 presidential campaign.
Republicans running to replace Wolf are promising to repeal the bipartisan 2019 law that allowed for widespread mail voting. They also plan to impose voter ID requirements, restrict mail ballot drop boxes, and do away with other procedures adopted during the pandemic. Some have said they would eliminate mail voting almost entirely, severely curtailing an option used by 2.6 million Pennsylvanians in 2020, mostly Democrats.
