💨 Monday, Monday. Hope you enjoyed your holiday.

PA Weather
🌨️ Erie | Lake Effect Snow Warning, 38
☁️ State College | Mostly Cloudy, 38
⛅ Wilkes-Barre | Partly Sunny, 45

PA Sports
🏈 Eagles (10-1) | Buffalo 37-34 (OT) | Sun vs. San Francisco
🏈 Steelers (7-4) | Cincinnati 16-10 | Sun vs. Arizona
🏈 Penn State (10-2) | Michigan State 42-0
🏈 Temple (3-9) | Memphis 21-45
🏈 Pitt (3-9) | Duke 19-30
⚽ Union | Cincinnati FC 0-1 (MLS Eastern Semifinal)
🏀 Sixers (11-5) | Oklahoma City 127-123 | Mon vs. LA Lakers
🏒 Penguins (10-10-0) | Toronto 3-2 | Tue vs. Nashville
🏒 Flyers (11-9-1) | NY Islanders, 1-0 (SO) | Tue vs. Carolina

What We’re Hearing
“Everything from his attempts to steal the 2020 presidential election, to his extreme views on issues that are important like abortion, I think this district is primed to be extremely competitive.” – Pennsylvania Democratic strategist b.

Happy Birthday
Belated cake and candles for U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (Sun.).

Start Your Day Smart
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Top Story

1. How Election Officials Are Planning To Avoid A Repeat Of 2020’s Slow Vote Count

“Counting procedures vary state by state, and partisan fighting has sometimes bogged down changes election workers want. And some key states — most notably Pennsylvania — still lag behind, election officials and experts warn, and in an exceptionally close presidential race it could still take days to know the winner.

To the frustration of Pennsylvania election officials, state legislators haven’t allowed for pre-processing of mail ballots, leaving Pennsylvania officials unable to touch them before the polls open. The issue has repeatedly fallen victim to partisan fighting in Pennsylvania’s state government.” (POLITICO)

Related

Dems Think They Can Send the Freedom Caucus Chair Packing. “In early 2021, Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) tried to overturn the presidential election. Now Democrats are trying to overturn who controls his seat.” (The Daily Beast)

‘Fake Elector’ Probes In 2020 Swing States Could Spell More Trouble For Trump. “A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania attorneys general’s office declined to comment over whether it is investigating the state’s fake electors scheme. However, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said when he was the state’s attorney general that the actions of Pennsylvania’s alternate electors were likely not criminal and that the state would not investigate them.” (The Hill)

Donations To GOP Drop As Worries Mount About The Party’s Finances. “The Republican National Committee disclosed that it had $9.1 million in cash on hand as of Oct. 30, the lowest amount for the RNC in any Federal Election Commission report since February 2015.” (Washington Post)

State

2. Delaware County’s Top Prosecutor Becomes Fifth Democrat To Run For Pennsylvania Attorney General

“Jack Stollsteimer, the top prosecutor in heavily populated Delaware County, will run for Pennsylvania attorney general in 2024, he announced Monday, seeking an office that played a critical role in court defending Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the presidential battleground.

Stollsteimer joins a Democratic primary field that is already four-deep in which he will be the only elected prosecutor. However, his competition for the Democratic nomination features veterans of the campaign trail and the courtroom.” (AP)

Related

Pennsylvania Society Calendar of Events. We will be updating the calendar regularly as we approach this weekend’s gathering in New York City. (PoliticsPA)

Are PA Mail Ballots Rejected Because Of Partisanship? Not Likely, According To New Study. “Conducted in a partnership between Carlisle-based Dickinson College and Keep Our Republic, a civic education nonprofit, the research found that … overall rejection rates were low and didn’t vary based on the counties’ political makeup, age, education, income or racial demographics.” (PA Pressroom)

How Long Does Your Mail Take? Here’s What To Know Before Sending In Your 2024 Ballot. “Completed ballots are handled as first-class mail service, regardless of whether they are prepaid by election officials or mailed with a stamp affixed by the voter. The only cases when completed ballots are not handled as first-class mail service is when the voter opts instead to pay for a premium service.” (USA Today)

Q&A with John Fetterman. “In an exclusive one-on-one interview with the first-term senator, City & State spoke with John Fetterman on current cannabis issues, the potential de-scheduling of marijuana at the federal level and Pennsylvania’s path to legalization.” (City & State)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Northampton County Executive’s Top Administrator Resigns In Wake Of Election Day Embarrassment

“Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure’s top lieutenant resigned Friday, a victim of the Election Day problems that plagued the county.

McClure said he accepted the resignation of Director of Administration Charles M. Dertinger “with deep regret.” The director of administration oversees the county’s elections division.” (LehighValleyNews.com)

Related

Behind The Scenes Of How Kenyatta Johnson Won The Race To Become Philly’s Next City Council President. “The Council presidency is an enormously powerful office, second only to the mayor in city government. The president controls the flow of legislation, and has the power to derail a mayor’s agenda.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Montgomery County Delays Election Results Certification Following Federal Ruling. “The Montgomery County Board of Elections had planned to certify its results, according to a Montgomery County spokesperson, but paused proceedings following a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania requiring the inclusion of “undated and improperly dated mail-in ballots.” (Norristown Times-Herald)

Lots Drawn To Settle Tied Cambria County Municipal Elections. “The way a tie in a municipal race is broken is by the candidates blindly choosing lots from a container – if they aren’t present, a proxy drawing is done.” (Johnstown Tribune-Democrat)

Editorial

4. What They’re Saying

• A Mail-Vote Time Bomb Keeps Ticking. (Wall Street Journal)
• U.S. Supreme Court Ethics Should Not Be An Oxymoron. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Pennsylvania Legislators Could Choose To Change Pay Raises. (Tribune-Review)
• Why Pennsylvania Society Always Belongs In New York City. (Elizabeth Preate Havey)
• What Is The Cost Of Special Elections? (Tribune-Review)
• A New Threat To Parental Rights In Our Schools. (Lou Barletta)
• ‘Parents’ Rights’ Cut Both Ways. (Jonathan Zimmerman)
• Democrats Are Used To Ignoring Latinos. They Do So At Their Peril. (Rafael Álvarez Febo)
• We Need To Save Our Rural Hospitals. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Celebrating Milton S. Hershey: The Unique Philanthropist. (Pete Gurt)
• Harrisburg Should Make Level Up School Funding A Priority. (Scranton Times-Tribune)
• Is Kevin Bethel The Police Changemaker We Need? (Roxanne Bethel Shepelavy)
• 2023 Supreme Court Race Shows Troubling Trend For Republicans. (Kyle Sammin)

1 Thing

5. The Word of the Year

“In an age of deepfakes and post-truth, as artificial intelligence rose and Elon Musk turned Twitter into X, the Merriam-Webster word of the year for 2023 is “authentic.”

“We see in 2023 a kind of crisis of authenticity,” editor at large Peter Sokolowski said ahead of Monday’s announcement of this year’s word. “What we realize is that when we question authenticity, we value it even more.” (AP)

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