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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | October 11, 2022 09:06 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Art Haywood |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Disqualifying Insurrectionists from Ballots in Pennsylvania |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce a concurrent resolution that will emphasize the duty of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to uphold the electoral laws and the Constitutions of the Commonwealth and the United States by enforcing the constitutional and statutory requirements for the qualifications of candidates for the office being sought. Broadly speaking, for all levels of public office in Pennsylvania, candidates must demonstrate that they meet qualifications to hold public office, such as age, citizenship, duration of residency in-state or in-district, and conformity with the requirements of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. But in all instances, by virtue of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, there is a constitutional responsibility and a legal obligation to disqualify from the ballot for “any office”, including the Pennsylvania presidential ballot, any candidate who has broken an oath to support the Constitution or has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. It is the responsibility of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to uphold and enforce the electoral laws and the Constitutions of the Commonwealth and the United States for elections held in Pennsylvania. Consequently the concurrent resolution will urge the Secretary of the Commonwealth to enforce Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and disqualify any insurrectionist candidate by declaring that individual ineligible to appear on an election ballot in this Commonwealth for any office by virtue of the operation of that federal constitutional section. There is much talk about election integrity in Pennsylvania on the voter side of the equation. But what has been lacking in this discussion and debate is the necessity of excluding constitutionally and legally ineligible candidates from the ballot. For the sake of public interest and to maintain the integrity and sanctity of our democratic process it is essential to enforce the constitutional and legal mechanisms to bar any individual who has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and who subsequently engages in insurrection from holding any present or future public office. Please join me in co-sponsoring this resolution. |
Introduced as SR357