colnelburton t1_j2ulimz wrote
A quick lookup (article VI, Sectional 628) has me thinking that the next set of elections (primary, municipal, or general) will have to include the special elections, right? But that assumes that the presiding officer of the legislative branch filed the appropriate writs. Do we know if that happened? Last, and not least, there's a clause that says under certain conditions the presiding officer can just choose to not hold the special election if they deem it not in the public interest. Is that what's at stake here - republicans claiming legislation leadership and just cancelling the special elections entirely?
boundfortrees OP t1_j2up2o1 wrote
Prestigious-Buy1774 t1_j2wzn08 wrote
Pretty much has all the facts right.... But what exactly is wrong with letting the voters decide on amendments?? It's not the will of the General Assembly then, It is the will of the majority of voters in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
themollusk t1_j2y28rd wrote
>But what exactly is wrong with letting the voters decide on amendments??
In theory and on paper? Nothing.
The issue is with how it's implemented and the threshold for passing. The US Constitution takes 2/3 of the House and Senate, and then 3/4 of the states to agree to it before an amendment goes through. In PA all it takes is 50% + 1 at every step of the process. The state GOP had been abusing the process in order to pass unpopular legislation that they wouldn't be able to muster enough votes to override a D governor's veto. For something as serious as amending the construction, a larger consensus should be made, not a skin of the teeth majority.
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