Stephen Morse | Pennsylvania Politics 101

Hello Quakers! Have you ever watched the same episode of “Pennsylvania Politics: The Endless Story” again and felt like you were stuck in a time loop? Well, you’re not alone. As a former columnist for the Daily Pennsylvanian, editor of 34th Street, and proud 2007 University of Pennsylvania graduate who made his first documentary while dodging Locust Walk flyers, I can say this: No change. There are some things.

Towards the end of my dorm life, I used my procrastination to create a documentary called Ain’t Easy Being Green. It all started with an unforgettable moment during the 2006 U.S. Senate race. As a junior and budding journalist at Penn, I interviewed Bob Casey, who was running for the Senate at the time. I asked three questions. The first question I asked was, “What impact did the Green Party candidates have on this election?” He refused to answer and abruptly left, thereby unwittingly setting the wheels in motion for my first documentary. The film explores efforts to keep Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli off the ballot and reveals the harsh reality of Pennsylvania’s two-party system. Spoiler alert: Romanelli did not remain on the ballot. why? Because Casey, then a rising star in the Democratic Party, orchestrated a legal challenge to silence other voices.

Fast forwarding to today feels like I pressed rewind instead of play. Sen. Bob Casey has been embroiled in another election kerfuffle. This time, in a close race against challenger David McCormick, the culprit was that mail-in ballots were either not dated or had the wrong date. Once again, Casey appeared to be bent on bending Pennsylvania law to his will. But this time, democracy did not work.

Counties defied court orders, lawsuits were flying, and somewhere a law professor was gleefully updating a syllabus. Just when you thought the intrigue couldn’t get any thicker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro intervened in the fray.

In a twist that rivals the season finale, Governor Shapiro stands by his state after the state Supreme Court ruled that incomplete mail-in ballots (ballots without accurate dates or signatures) cannot be counted. . “The rule of law is important in Pennsylvania,” he said, criticizing the insinuation that the law can be ignored. The move was a victory for Republican officials seeking strict compliance with the court’s rulings and showed there are limits to bending the rules, even within the same party.

Meanwhile, some Democratic-led counties, including Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery and Center, decided to include those disputed ballots in the recount anyway. Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis Marseglia openly admitted, “People break the law whenever they want. So for me, I break this law because I want the courts to take note. Count the votes.” (She recently apologized for these comments.)

As a student, you juggle a lot of things: classes, clubs, the eternal quest for free food, and trying to remember at 2 a.m. if you really paid for that Wawa hoagie. But why should we care? This wasn’t just politics as usual. It was a real-life lesson in how democratic processes can become mired in technicalities and turf wars. It was more of a group project drama, but instead of affecting our GPA, it affected the future of our state and country.

Let’s not forget who tried to exploit these technologies for personal gain. Bob Casey is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a “Democrat” who failed to support the democratic process…again. His attempts to repeat history and manipulate the law were not successful this time. Democracy remained steadfast, with support from the courts and officials like Governor Shapiro. Thankfully.

So what do you get? First, democracy is not a spectator sport. If we are not careful, the same developments will repeat themselves. To be honest, the storyline is getting old. Next, your system may require proper debugging. If the entire county believes the rules are flawed and is willing to defy the court order, it may be time to rewrite the code.

But don’t be cynical. After all, we are in Pennsylvania. This is where it makes perfect sense to toast at a football game. If we can find meaning in throwing carbohydrates at us, we can surely muster some optimism for democratic reform. Perhaps it’s time to channel that school spirit into civic engagement.

It’s time to turn this political Groundhog Day into a springboard for progress. Learn lessons from the past, consider your current stakeholders and systems, and apply them to build a better future. Otherwise you’ll end up rewatching the same tired episodes and trust me, reruns don’t get any better. Quakers, go ahead and make some noise. Ask tough questions. Then, maybe, just maybe, there will be a new episode in the story of Pennsylvania politics. A film where plot twists bring about positive change and the credits roll with a sense of accomplishment rather than deja vu.

STEPHEN MORSE is a 2007 University graduate. His email is morse@observatoryventures.com.