PRIMARY ELECTION – MAY 18
Letter to the Editor
In 2020, the Pennsylvania Legislature sent bills to the Governor that effectively denied that COVID-19 was still a problem and denied many Pennsylvanians the right to vote. The Governor vetoed the bills, and Pennsylvania dodged a bullet when the legislature failed to secure the two-thirds majority necessary to override our Governor’s veto.
These two 2021 Primary Ballot Questions seek to amend the PA constitutional to allow the legislature to override the Governor’s veto with simple majorities. This would overturn the checks and balances enshrined in most state constitutions.. Due to gerrymandering, our legislative majority often has the support of less than 50% of the voters. In a two-party system like ours, the Governor always has majority voter support.
The legislature can already pass laws after a gubernatorial veto if it has bi-partisan legislative support. Even if our Governor has overwhelming voter support he cannot enact laws without the support of at least a majority of the legislature.
This is why it is so important to get voters to turn out and vote NO on the first 2 PA Constitutional Questions on this year’s ballot: A yes vote means the Republican legislature can override a gubernatorial veto with a simple majority. Last year, this would have meant taking away the vote of Pennsylvanians and hampering emergency health measures related to the COVID-19.
David Freiman
