THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
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No. |
INTRODUCED BY MASTRIANO, ARNOLD, BROOKS, SCAVELLO, REGAN, PHILLIPS-HILL, PITTMAN AND J. WARD, NOVEMBER 30, 2020
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, NOVEMBER 30, 2020
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Disputing the 2020 General Election and urging the United States Congress to recognize and count as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's electoral votes for President and Vice President only the electoral votes as are certified directly by the Senate and House of Representatives by subsequent concurrent resolution.
WHEREAS, Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States empowers state legislatures, including the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to prescribe the "Times, Places, and Manner" of conducting elections; and
WHEREAS, Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States empowers state legislatures, including the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to direct the manner of appointing electors for President and Vice President of the United States; and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has exercised its authority to establish election administration procedures for the Commonwealth, known as the Pennsylvania Election Code; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code requires all mail-in ballots to be received by eight o'clock P.M. on the day of the election; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code requires election officials at polling places to authenticate the signatures of in-person voters; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code requires mail-in ballots to be received in the office of the county board of elections and makes no mention of "satellite locations" to be solely used for the collection of "mail-in" ballots; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code requires that county boards of elections shall not meet to conduct a pre-canvass of all absentee and mail-in ballots until seven o'clock A.M. on Election Day, during which time defects on mail-in ballots would be identified; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code prohibits the counting of defective absentee or mail-in ballots; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Election Code authorizes "watchers," selected by candidates and political parties, to observe the process of canvassing absentee and mail-in ballots; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania conducted an election on November 3, 2020, for Federal offices, including selecting electors for President and Vice President of the United States; and
WHEREAS, Officials in the Executive and Judicial Branches of the Commonwealth infringed upon the General Assembly's authority under the Constitution of the United States by unlawfully changing the rules governing the November 3, 2020, election in the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, On September 17, 2020, less than seven weeks before the November 3, 2020, election, the partisan majority on the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania unlawfully and unilaterally extended the deadline for mail-in ballots to be received, mandated that ballots mailed without a postmark would be presumed to be received timely, and could be accepted without a verified voter signature; and
WHEREAS, On October 23, 2020, less than two weeks before the November 3, 2020, election and upon a petition from the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania issued a ruling against signature verification of mail in-ballots, thereby treating in-person and mail-in voters dissimilarly and eliminating a critical safeguard against potential election crime; and
WHEREAS, On November 2, 2020, the night before the November 3, 2020, election and prior to the prescribed time for pre-canvassing mail-in ballots, the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth encouraged certain counties to notify party and candidate representatives of mail-in voters whose ballots contained defects; and
WHEREAS, Heavily Democrat counties permitted mail-in voters to cure ballot defects while heavily Republican counties followed the law and invalidated defective ballots; and
WHEREAS, In certain counties in this Commonwealth, watchers were not allowed to meaningfully observe the pre-canvassing and canvassing activities relating to absentee and mail-in ballots; and
WHEREAS, In other parts of this Commonwealth, watchers observed irregularities concerning the pre-canvassing and canvassing of absentee and mail-in ballots; and
WHEREAS, Witnesses testifying before the Senate Majority Policy Committee on November 25, 2020, have provided additional compelling information regarding the questionable nature of the administration of the 2020 General Election; and
WHEREAS, These and other actions of the Secretary of the Commonwealth and other election officials and actions taken at their direction or under their purview resulted in great confusion, the inconsistent application of rules and practices across this Commonwealth, insecurity and uncertainty regarding the collection, handling, storage, pre-canvassing, canvassing, counting, tabulation and reporting of votes and has undermined the legitimacy and accuracy of the vote count arising from mail-in ballots in certain counties in the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, The actions of the Secretary of the Commonwealth and others have been contrary to the direction of the General Assembly regarding the conduct of the November 3, 2020, election for presidential electors in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, There remains ongoing litigation concerning the administration of the November 3, 2020, election in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, Pennsylvania's general election results were certified on December 12, 2016, and on November 24, 2020, the Secretary of the Commonwealth unilaterally and prematurely certified results of the November 3, 2020, election regarding presidential electors despite ongoing litigation; and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly has the duty to ensure that no citizen of this Commonwealth is disenfranchised, to insist that all elections are conducted according to the law and to satisfy the general public that every legal vote is counted accurately; therefore be it
RESOLVED (the House of Representatives concurring), That the General Assembly:
(1) Recognize substantial irregularities and improprieties associated with mail-in balloting, pre-canvassing and canvassing during the November 3, 2020, election;
(2) Disapprove of the infringement on the General Assembly's sole authority pursuant to the Constitution of the United States to regulate the selection of Electoral College delegates;
(3) Disapprove of and reject the Secretary of the Commonwealth's premature certification of the results of the November 3, 2020, election regarding presidential electors;
(4) Declare that the selection of presidential electors and other Statewide electoral contest results in this Commonwealth is in dispute;
(5) Direct that, pursuant to our authority granted in Article II of the Constitution of the United States and the numerous illegal acts committed, encouraged and ignored by the Governor, Secretary of State and certain election officials, the General Assembly takes back and reserves the power to designate presidential electors for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the December 2020 meeting of the Electoral College and withdraws any prior statement or direction to the contrary given by the General Assembly or any other official or body;
(6) Direct the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the Governor to withdraw and vacate the certification of presidential electors and to delay certification of results in other Statewide electoral contests voted on at the 2020 General Election;
(7) Command all presidential electors and other officials to act in conformity with this concurrent resolution and to not interfere with the authority of the General Assembly under Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 and under Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States; and
(8) Urge the United States Congress to recognize and count as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's electoral votes for President and Vice President only the electoral votes as are certified directly by the Senate and the House of Representatives by subsequent concurrent resolution;
RESOLVED, That, upon passage, this concurrent resolution be transmitted to the Governor.
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