Spotlight PA

A federal court has directed Pennsylvania counties to accept mail ballots that a voter has failed to date or misdated, a long-awaited decision that could affect thousands of ballots in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection policy now recognizes 1,965 environmental justice areas in Pennsylvania. More than 200 are in rural counties.

Pennsylvania will not release a state-maintained database of certified police officers, even after a national coalition of newsrooms asked Gov. Josh Shapiro to intervene.

A dispute over private school vouchers has left Pennsylvania’s budget undone. The consequences for schools and counties are starting to emerge.

Talks between Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, the Republican-controlled state Senate, and the narrowly Democratic-controlled state House fell apart last week thanks to a deadlock over whether to include private school vouchers in the spending plan.

Pennsylvania received $7.3 billion in state and local pandemic relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. That money came with an expiration date: Funds must be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2026. Any funds that remain unused by that deadline will be returned to the federal government.

A coalition with wealthy backers is pushing Pennsylvania lawmakers to use public dollars to create tuition vouchers so K-12 students can attend private schools. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration is in support of this idea.

The offices that help Pennsylvanians keep their Medicaid benefits are facing persistent vacancies and a heavy workload. Advocates and staff fear people could lose coverage as a result.

Rozzi, who was elected in a surprise deal engineered by Republicans, said he wanted to make way for McClinton to become the chamber’s first female speaker.

Pennsylvania counties make their own policies on drop boxes, fixing mail ballots, and more, creating an uneven landscape that gives people additional voting options based on where they live.