(File Photo of Leigh Chapman courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state elections chief wants legal penalties against two Republican county officials and their lawyer for letting an outside group access voting machines this summer despite pending litigation on the subject. Lawyers for acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman asked the state Supreme Court to hold in contempt the two Fulton County commissioners. She wants the court to dismiss the litigation that’s is scheduled for oral argument before the justices this week. The lawyer for Fulton County and commissioners Stuart Ulsh and Randy Bunch calls the state’s contempt request “a stealth pleading that was completely irrelevant and not related to the case at hand.”

(File Photo)
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s high court is ruling in favor of “ballot curing” in which some counties contact voters to correct errors in mail-in ballots. The state Supreme Court justices also agreed Friday to again consider whether mail-in ballots have to be counted even if they arrive with incorrect or missing handwritten dates on their outer envelopes. Since mail-in ballots have become much more widely used, some counties have been contacting voters to fix problems such as missing signatures, while others have not. Republicans want to prevent the practice in all 67 counties.

Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, center, is led to court as she arrives for a hearing on an alleged probation violation, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Monday, May 23, 2022. Pennsylvania’s former top law enforcement officer, who served jail time for leaking secret investigative files and lying about it, faces the prospect of more time behind bars after she was arrested for drunken driving in March. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — The attorney for Pennsylvania’s former top law enforcement officer is arguing that a drunken-driving case against her should be dismissed due to lack of evidence. The (Scranton) Times-Tribune reports that the defense wants prosecutors barred from presenting results of a field sobriety test of former attorney general Kathleen Kane as well as testimony about her refusal to submit to a blood alcohol test. Kane, the first woman and first Democrat to be elected attorney general in the state, is awaiting trial in Lackawanna County Court on DUI and careless driving charges in a minor Scranton accident in March. She denies she was intoxicated, saying her car slid on ice.

(Photo Provided with release)

Keystone State News Connection

October 24, 2022

Danielle Smith

In Pennsylvania, today is the last day to register to vote or update your voter registration before the November 8 midterm election.

You have until midnight to register to vote.

Seventy-one percent of registered Pennsylvania voters cast their ballots in the 2020 General Election. Meg Pierce – executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania – said the state saw a huge surge in participation in the 2020 presidential election.

Then the numbers dipped a little in 2021. But Pierce predicted a high turnout again this November.

“Some ‘PA’ legislative senator positions are open, and all of the Pennsylvania House positions are open,” said Pierce. “So there’s a lot on the ballot, and there’s a lot to care about and research. So, we are anticipating a very high turnout because of the races that are on the ballot this November.”

She added that in order to vote by mail, you must request a mail-in ballot through November 1, and your ballot must be received by your county election office by November 8.

In August, Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law was upheld by the state Supreme Court, a decision that allows the more than 8.7 million registered voters to vote by mail in the November midterms, as well as in future elections.

Pierce said despite some misinformation being circulated right now about the election, it’s important that people know their vote matters – and it will count. She adds there are a lot of critical issues on the ballot that elected officials – who are essentially interviewing for a job right now – will affect.

“If you care about protecting our democratic institutions,” said Pierce, “if you care about things like abortion access, climate justice, gun safety, public education funding – how you vote in this November election will have profound implications for Pennsylvania, and where and how we make progress on those issues.”

Pierce touted the League’s website ‘Vote411.org‘ as a one-stop shop for election information.

Folks can check their voter registration status, find their polling place or request a mail-in ballot. By entering a mailing address, they can also see a guide to the specific races on their ballot, along with candidate information.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

(File Photo)

(Monaca, Pa.) The Community College of Beaver County, in partnership with the Beaver County Library system, is offering a free hands-on computer security workshop on Monday November 14, 2022. Topics include passwords, two-factor identification, malware software, and more. This 90-minute course will not only educate the local community but will also help protect the families and businesses that CCBC interacts with.
Instruction will be provided by CCBC’s Cyber 1 class educator, Kristi Farrow and some of her students. Her class is part of CCBC’s 2-year Cybersecurity associate degree program.
The workshop will be held from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the Beaver County Library Facility on Pleasant Drive in Center Twp.

(Neville Island, Pa.) PennDOT is announcing the closure of the ramp from Grand Avenue (Neville Island) to northbound I-79 at the Neville Island Bridge in Neville Township, Allegheny County, will begin Today. The ramp will be closed continuously through Friday, November 4 as crews conduct concrete deck repairs. All ramp traffic will be detoured.

Posted Detour

• From westbound Grand Avenue, cross the Ohio River via the Coraopolis Bridge
• Turn right onto northbound Route 51 (4th Avenue)
• Turn left onto Montour Street Extension
• Turn left onto southbound Route 51 (5th Avenue)
• Continue southbound on Route 51 (5th Avenue becomes State Avenue)
• Turn right onto the ramp to northbound I-79 toward Erie
• End detour

Alternate Detour

• From eastbound Grand Avenue, bear right onto Neville Road
• Cross the Ohio River via the Fleming Park Bridge
• Turn right onto northbound Route 51 (Robinson Boulevard) toward Coraopolis
• Continue northbound on Route 51 (Robinson Boulevard becomes Coraopolis Road)
• Turn left onto the ramp to northbound I-79
• End detour

To help keep motorists informed as work progresses, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for the I-79 Neville Island Bridge rehabilitation including traffic advisories and construction updates. Enroll by sending email addresses to stcowan@pa.gov. Please write “Subscribe – I-79” in the subject line.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.