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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 25, 2021 12:33 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lisa M. Boscola |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Amending the Pennsylvania Constitution by Requiring Referendum Votes be held in General Elections |
| I plan to introduce a bill which proposes to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to clarify that any referendum by the voters for proposed amendments to the constitution be done in a general election. As the General Assembly has the power to propose amendments to the electorate of Pennsylvania via ballot referendum, I feel that we need to affirm that any of these proposals show up on a ballot in a non-primary election, which would leave a general election or municipal election, occurring each November depending on the year. In our state, we have a closed primary system – which means that independent and non-affiliated voters cannot vote in primary elections. The only time it is permissible is when a referendum vote is on the ballot, as we saw in the primary election in 2021. However, I feel that many independent voters were not aware of this, because they do not have the opportunity to vote in these elections any other time. This issue, compounded with the fact that more people vote in November elections than they do primary elections, is exactly why the Pennsylvania Constitution itself should be amended to provide for this permanently, and for any future constitutional amendments to thereby appear on the ballot for voters to decide. I hope that you will join me in co-sponsoring this proposed amendment. |
Introduced as SB882