This combination of photos shows Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate state Attorney General Josh Shapiro on June 29, 2022, in Philadelphia, left, and Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano on Sept. 29, 2022, in Erie, Pa., right. (AP Photo)

By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Voters electing a new governor of Pennsylvania will choose between Democrat Josh Shapiro and Republican Doug Mastriano. At stake in Tuesday’s election are the future of abortion rights and management of the 2024 presidential election in a swing state that is often decisive. Shapiro is the state’s two-term elected attorney general. He smashed Pennsylvania’s campaign finance record in a powerhouse campaign in which Democrats nationally faced headwinds. Mastriano is a retired Army colonel, state senator and relative political novice. He ran a hard-right campaign and refused for much of it to talk to mainstream news organizations. Pennsylvania polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voters wait in line to make a corrections to their ballots for the midterm elections at City Hall in Philadelphia, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some of Pennsylvania’s largest counties are working to help voters fix mail-in ballots that have fatal flaws such as incorrect dates or lack of signatures on the envelopes used to send them in. The efforts by elections officials in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are in response to state Supreme Court orders in recent days that said mail-in ballots may not be counted if they lack accurate handwritten dates on the exterior envelopes. It’s unclear how many ballots are at issue across the state. Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to vote by mail. The numbers of mail-in ballots are large enough that they might matter in a close race, such as the contest between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz.

(Harrisburg, Pa.) – Legislation originally introduced by Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) to streamline the process for prior authorization of medical services in Pennsylvania was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf.

“Currently, the prior authorization procedure is often an inefficient process that increases costs for providers, their patients and all policy holders,” said Bernstine. “The lack of standardization of paperwork; lack of transparency, accessibility and consistent application of prior authorization requirements, restrictions and amendments; and lack of electronic submission capability all contribute to the impaired delivery of quality health care to our constituents.”

Specifically, Senate Bill 225, now Act 146 of 2022, will improve transparency, accessibility and consistent application of prior authorization by including a standard definition. It will also significantly streamline the process by requiring insurers to make available an electronic communications network that permits prior authorization requests to be submitted electronically, and authorizations and adverse determinations to likewise by returned electronically.

Pennsylvania will now join 44 states that already have external review authority. In addition, the new law also lays out standards for the review of prior authorization requests and confirms in state law that there may be no prior authorization for emergency services, consistent with the Federal No Surprises Act.

“Improved patient care will result from requiring consistent response times and processes with prior authorizations, adverse determinations and appeal procedures, including external review by insurers,” said Bernstine.

The major provisions of the law will take effect beginning in January 2024.

(File Photo)

Today is election day and if you are headed out to vote today there a few things that you should know. The polls are open from now until 8 PM tonight. If have voted before you do not need to bring ID to vote. Only voters who are voting for the first time in their election district need to show ID, according to the Pennsylvania voter guide.
Acceptable IDs for first-time voters:
Driver’s license
U.S. passport
Military, student, or employee ID
Voter registration card
Firearm permit
Current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check
Any ID issued by the commonwealth or federal government
Note: An ID without your photo must have your address on it.
If you still haven’t submitted your mail in ballot it has to be in the elctions burea by 8PM tonight to count. At this point it is probably best to hand deliver the ballot to the elections office
The state of Pennsylvania currently requires voters who mail in a ballot to sign and date the outer envelope. On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court ruled that any mail-in ballots with an incorrect date or no date written at all on the return envelope would not count.

This combination of file photos shows Democratic Senate candidate, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, left, and Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022 photos. (AP Photo)

(Harrisburg, Pa. ) In a fierce fight for retiring US Senator Pat Toomey’s seat Dr. Mehment OZ has now taken the lead in a recent InsiderAdvantage/FOX poll conducted on Nov. 3, 2022.
The poll says that Dr. OZ now leads Lt. Govenor Fetterman by two percentage points. OZ was polled at 48% compared to Fetterman’s 46%. 4% are undecided and the margin of error is 3.58 %.
With the race being so close this past weekend President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama were in Pennsylvania to campaign for Fetterman and former President Donald Trump was also in the area to campaign for Dr. Oz.

(Photo from the scene of a shooting at the Monaca Wal-mart on Sunday night. Photo taken by Keith Walsh)

(Monaca, Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver are investigating after 48-year-old Kenneth Vinyard died after he was trying to render aid to 20-year-old Rashaun Smith who was shot in the abdomen by Yeshua Bratcher in the Monaca Wal-mart parking lot in Center Twp. around 6:30 PM on Sunday night.
Joel Sansone an attorney for the family says that Vineyard was pushed and killed by an off-duty police officer while trying to help the shooting victim.
State Police are handling the investigation of Vinyard’s death and Center Twp. Police are handling the investigation of the shooting.
Bratcher was charged yesterday with a total of nine charges, including criminal homicide.

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced that all driver license and photo centers, including its full-service center in Harrisburg, will be closed Friday, November 11, 2022, in observance of Veterans Day.