Pennsylvania

How Courts Are Impacting 2024 Election: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Shuts Down RNC Effort To Disqualify Voters

Published

1 year ago

October 24, 2024

How Courts Are Impacting 2024 Election: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Shuts Down RNC Effort To Disqualify Voters

Topline

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that voters whose mail-in ballots are rejected can still cast provisional ballots, after the Republican National Committee sued to stop the practice, as courts across the country are issuing a flurry of last-minute rulings on ballots and how elections are run in the month before Election Day as parties seek to expand or limit voter access.

A polling station in Hawthorne, California, on March 5.

AFP via Getty Images

Timeline

Oct. 23The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected because of defects—like issues with their signature or the date—can cast provisional ballots to make sure they can vote, after the RNC defended a county’s decision to stop those voters from casting ballots if their mail votes were rejected.

Oct. 22The Georgia Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling blocking new voting rules from taking effect—like a requirement to hand-count ballots and other provisions that Democrats warned could delay the election results from being certified—which means that while litigation will continue, the rules will not be in effect during the general election.

Oct. 22A federal judge dismissed a Republican National Committee-led lawsuit in Michigan that took issue with voter rolls in the state, alleging the number of voters was “impossibly high” and the state wasn’t removing voters from their rolls as required by law, with the judge ruling the plaintiffs didn’t provide enough evidence there was any wrongdoing.

Oct. 21Judges in Michigan and North Carolina rejected lawsuits brought by the RNC challenging overseas voters casting a ballot in those states even if they’ve never actually lived there—for instance, if their parents or spouse lived there—with the Michigan judge calling it an “11th hour attempt to disenfranchise” those voters.

Oct. 18A federal judge in Nevada dismissed an RNC lawsuit challenging the state’s voter rolls—claiming, like in Michigan, that the number of voters was “impossibly high”—throwing out the lawsuit for a second time and ruling the plaintiffs hadn’t provided any “concrete specifics” of wrongdoing.

Oct. 17A Trump-appointed judge in North Carolina struck down a Republican lawsuit aiming to remove 225,000 voters from the state’s voter rolls, alleging fraud, with the judge ruling that removing those voters would move the state “away from a democratic form of government.”

Oct. 16The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled convicted felons can vote in the state after they’ve completed their sentence, striking down an effort by the state to prevent them from voting as Nebraska could become pivotal to determining which presidential candidate wins the Electoral College.

Oct. 16A federal judge blocked a program in Alabama that purged voters from the voter rolls—claiming doing so would help prevent noncitizens from voting—after the Justice Department sued to stop the program because it was too close to the election.

Oct. 16A lower Georgia state judge blocked the new election rules in Georgia that could have potentially delayed the vote certification, after Democrats argued the state election board’s new rules could cause “chaos” in November.

Oct. 15The Ohio Supreme Court upheld restrictions on ballot drop boxes, after the state enacted new limitations saying people dropping off ballots for voters with disabilities have to go into an election office rather than leaving the ballot in a drop box.

Oct. 15A Georgia state judge issued a judgment saying state election workers must certify their county’s election results—regardless of whether they think any ballots were fraudulent—after an official who had refused to certify results in the past asked for clarification and more than a dozen local officials have voted against certifying in recent years.

Oct. 12A federal judge rejected an effort by conservatives to require Arizona to confirm voters’ citizenship ahead of the election.

Oct. 7The Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to take up two voting cases after Democrats challenged counties throwing out ballots with incorrect or missing dates, and Republicans opposed some county officials letting voters correct issues with their mail-in ballots, which should not be allowed under state law.

What To Watch For

There are many outstanding cases that still have to be decided by Election Day, with Marc Elias, a voting rights attorney aligned with the Democratic Party, reporting Sunday that 191 cases are pending in 39 states. The Justice Department has sued Virginia for challenging voters’ eligibility too close to the election, for instance, and Georgia Republicans are appealing the ruling against the state election board’s new rules. The RNC has filed lawsuits taking aim at voting practices, including alleging Fulton County, Georgia, did not hire enough Republican poll workers. More lawsuits are also likely to be filed and rapidly decided in the two weeks before Election Day.

What We Don’t Know

What will happen after Election Day. Close election results in any battleground state could prompt a slew of lawsuits over how ballots are counted and the election results, as happened in 2020 when the Trump campaign launched a wide-ranging legal campaign challenging the vote count. Battleground states are already preparing for an anticipated onslaught of post-election lawsuits, Reuters reports, with Arizona’s court system ordering judges to prioritize election lawsuits so that certification doesn’t get delayed. Republican and Democratic campaigns are also gearing up for a busy legal landscape: An RNC official told ABC News the party has 5,000 volunteer attorneys ready to be deployed on Election Day, and ABC cited an internal memo from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign that claims it is “the most prepared campaign in history for what we face” in terms of litigation.

Chief Critic

Democrats have heavily criticized Republicans for the rash of lawsuits they’ve brought ahead of Election Day and are likely to continue filing, arguing the GOP is trying to sow doubt in the election results even before they’ve come in. “We’re seeing a record number of lawsuits filed before the election—nearly every day—in a seemingly coordinated push to use the legitimacy of the courts to lay the groundwork for discrediting an unfavorable result,” Wendy Weiser, director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program, told ABC News. “The lawsuits are not about getting legal relief, but about spreading conspiracy theories.” Many of the GOP lawsuits that have been brought are based on concerns about election irregularities or fraud, such as noncitizen voting or mail-in ballots, even though evidence has shown election fraud is exceedingly rare and there is no evidence of any widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

Key Background

Republicans have ramped up legal challenges and tightened voting rules since the 2020 election. Trump and his allies filed at least 60 lawsuits challenging the vote count in 2020 as the then-president made baseless allegations of fraud, and Republicans have used Trump’s fraud allegations as an underpinning for their litigation challenging voting rules. GOP-led states have also pointed to Trump’s baseless claims to justify enacting their own tighter restrictions on voting ahead of the 2024 election, which Democrats have then challenged in court. The RNC announced in April it intended to make its litigation efforts a key part of its strategy in the general election, launching an extensive “election integrity” effort with 100,000 staffers and volunteers. Chief Counsel Charlie Spies said in a statement the “RNC legal team will be working tirelessly to ensure that elections officials follow the rules” and “will aggressively take them to court if they don’t.”

Man charged after over 100 human skeletal remains found in Pennsylvania home – National | Globalnews.ca

Published

57 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Man charged after over 100 human skeletal remains found in Pennsylvania home – National | Globalnews.ca

A Pennsylvania man has been arrested and is facing more than 500 charges after he was accused of stealing human skulls and “numerous” skeletal remains from an abandoned cemetery on Philadelphia’s outskirts, according to police.

Bones and skulls visible in the back seat of a car near the cemetery led police to the home and storage unit of Jonathan Gerlach, 34, after police had been looking into a string of burglaries.

Investigators checked Gerlach’s licence plates and found that he had been near the cemetery repeatedly during the period when the burglaries occurred.

Officers say the Jan. 6 arrest culminated a months-long investigation into break-ins at Mount Moriah Cemetery, where at least 26 mausoleums and vaults had been forced open since early November.

After searching Gerlach’s home and storage unit, investigators reported finding more than 100 human skulls, long bones, mummified hands and feet, two decomposing torsos and other skeletal items.

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“They were in various states. Some of them were hanging, as it were. Some of them were pieced together, some were just skulls on a shelf,” Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said.

Most of the findings were in Gerlach’s basement, authorities said. They also recovered jewelry believed to be linked to the graves, and a pacemaker that was still attached.

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“Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life in that home. It is truly, in the most literal sense of the word, horrific. I grieve for those who are upset by this, who are going through this, who are trying to figure out if it is, in fact, one of their loved ones,” Rouse added.

Click to play video: 'Human skull found amid Halloween decor in Florida thrift store'

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Human skull found amid Halloween decor in Florida thrift store

Police say Gerlach targeted mausoleums and underground vaults at the cemetery, which was established in 1855. Gerlach was arrested as he walked back toward his car with a crowbar, police said.

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He also had a burlap bag in which officers found the mummified remains of two small children, three skulls and other bones.

Gerlach then told investigators that he took around 30 sets of human remains and showed them the graves he stole from, police said.

Police believe the remains were also taken from other cemeteries in the region. They are investigating the Human Bones and Skull Selling Group on Facebook, where Gerlach was reportedly tagged and pictured holding a skull.

He was charged with 100 counts each of abuse of a corpse and receiving stolen property, along with multiple counts of desecrating a public monument, desecrating a venerated object, desecrating a historic burial place, burglary, trespassing and theft.

Mount Moriah Cemetery released a statement on its Instagram Stories following Gerlach’s arrest, thanking Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, the Yeadon Police Department and the Philadelphia Police Department for “their hard work and dedication to this case.”

“Our team has been working alongside all parties involved and will continue to do so throughout the remainder of the investigation. Please direct any specific questions regarding this case to the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office,” it said.

“Mount Moriah is the largest abandoned cemetery in the United States. Its historic grounds are cared for by a dedicated group of approximately 12 volunteers who show up week in and week out to preserve this space.”

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Gerlach is being held on $1-million bail, and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 20.

— With files from The Associated Press

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Pennsylvania

Here’s what to try at this year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show food court

Published

13 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Here’s what to try at this year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show food court

As we were sequestered around the Expo Hall and Main Hall at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center, guided by Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding and a Benjamin Franklin re-enactor Bill Robling, my mind began to wander to food.

Thursday marked my inaugural visit to the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, the 110th iteration the expo and one that coincided with the 250^th anniversary of the Untied States’ founding. While I and York Daily Record photographer Paul Kuehnel joined a flock of other reporters for the Farm Show’s preview, we were treated to a taste of many of the foods, both new and returning, that would be offered to visitors in the sprawling food court inside the Expo Hall.

Considering I hadn’t had breakfast that morning, I was willing to oblige.

With such an anniversary on the horizon, the Pennsylvania Dairyman’s Association unveiled a flight of red, white and blue milkshake flavors. Newer additions to the menu including pickle pizza from the Pennsylvania FFA and Lion’s Mane coffee from the Pennsylvania Mushroom Farmers, among others.

Here are some of the items the preview provided, as well as what to try when the food court opens at noon on Jan. 9.

Lion’s Mane Mushroom Coffee

Mushrooms are a major cash crop for Pennsylvania, with nearly 60 percent of U.S. production of the crop running through the commonwealth. Lion’s Mane mushrooms, especially, have been linked to brain health benefits thanks to anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, according to a published paper by the journal Nutrients.

The coffee itself is a dark roast blended with ground Lion’s Mane mushrooms, and the flavor provides a slight, hearty twang to its benefit. Considering I hadn’t had my own coffee that morning, it provided me with an immediate jolt of energy.

Pierogi

Fun fact: pierogi is plural! A classic done right by the PA Cooperative Potato Growers, Inc., the pierogi are soft, chewy and contain a starchy potato filling that satisfies any craving but doesn’t weigh you down. The pierogi also come with grilled onions on top, which adds a savory boost to keep you wanting more.

Blended Mushroom Steakhouse Burger

Piled high with a mix of mushrooms grown right in Pennsylvania and a slathering of Alabama barbecue sauce, the Pennsylvania Mushroom Farmers offer a burger with a twist. The patty itself is 75 percent grass-fed beef, 25 percent mushroom, and it works. The burger retains the flavor of a traditional all-beef patty while keeping in style with the Pennsylvania Mushroom Farmers’ mission to introduce the state’s cash crop to a variety of dishes. And the Alabama barbecue sauce provides a twang to the ensemble.

Stuffed Baby Bella Mushrooms

Returning to the menu provided by the Pennsylvania Mushroom Farmers, you are provided with four bite-sized mushrooms that come in two flavors: artichoke and spinach and bacon and cheese.

The mushrooms are an excellent snack or starter for the Farm Fest, filled with flavor and firm enough to burst with juices after your first bite.

Potato Doughnut

The granddaddy of them all and a Farm Show staple, the potato doughnut makes its return in its three traditional flavors: plain, powdered and cinnamon sugar. It’s not as flaky as a traditional doughnut, and not as heavy either.

Red, White and Blue Milkshakes

With the 250^th anniversary of the United States’ founding, the The Pennsylvania Dairyman’s Association, a vendor with the Farm Show since 1955, saw fit to roll out a milkshake flight of red, white and bBlue milkshakes to ring in the sestercentennial. The white is a normal vanilla flavor, the red is strawberry and the blue is a raspberry flavor.

The Dairyman’s Association has also made an intentional move this year away from artificial dyes in their milkshakes, shifting to natural dyes to provide the color.

Dave Smith, executive director of the Pennsylvania Dairyman’s Association, said the move had been a goal of the Dairyman’s Association ahead of the nation’s 250^th anniversary.

“That was one of my priorities, to figure out how we could do something like that,” Smith said. “What we found is that (the colors) are not as distinct as what they would have been if they were artificial. It’s more subtle.”

This shift doesn’t affect the flavor one bit. All three options are sweet, thick and delicious, as to be expected.

Plan your trip to the Pennsylvania Farm Show

For more information about the Farm Show, check out the full schedule of events here. The food court opens to the public on Jan. 9 from noon until 9 p.m. with the bulk of the expo running from Jan. 10-17.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania launches new website to combat human trafficking | StateScoop

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Pennsylvania launches new website to combat human trafficking | StateScoop

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency on Thursday launched a new website aimed at preventing human trafficking and better supporting victims by bringing together resources for first responders, social service providers and members of the public.

The announcement came during Human Trafficking Prevention Month at a roundtable discussion in Philadelphia that included state and local officials, advocates, social service providers and survivors.

The new website, developed with Villanova University’s Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation, provides trauma-informed training materials, guidance on recognizing warning signs of trafficking and information on how to report suspected cases.

“The fight against trafficking begins with coordination and working together to raise awareness of the warning signs, making sure people know where and how to report, strengthening support for survivors, and holding perpetrators accountable,” Kathy Buckley, director of PCCD’s Office of Victims’ Services, said in a press release.

Human trafficking is the crime of using force, fraud or coercion to induce another person to perform labor or sex acts.

According to the Philadelphia Anti-Trafficking Coalition, the number of identified trafficking survivors in the region increased by 23% in 2025 compared to the previous year. The organization cites housing, food assistance, medical care and counseling among the most common needs for survivors

“That’s the goal of our new website and the purpose of this conversation today, shining a light on organizations leading this work and ensuring that all across Pennsylvania, every individual knows there are people and resources dedicated to combating all forms of exploitation,” Buckley said.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 26 states have enacted legislation creating human-trafficking task forces, study groups or similar coordination efforts. Eight of those states — Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri and Rhode Island apply to sex trafficking only, while the others target both labor and sex trafficking.

In 2019, researchers in the Biotechnology and Human Systems studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a Human Trafficking Technology Roadmap aimed at helping federal, state and local agencies to better identify, investigate and prosecute trafficking cases. The report’s recommendations include building tools that automatically analyze large amounts of data, establishing centralized collections of evidence templates and trafficking “signatures,” and developing shared computing systems for law enforcement and courts.

Pennsylvania’s new website builds on efforts by the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro, who announced his reelection bid Thursday, to combat human trafficking. Those include spending $14 million over the past two budget cycles on the Victims Compensation Assistance Program and moving the state’s Anti-Human Trafficking Workgroup under PCCD’s leadership. That group now focuses on training, law enforcement coordination, victim services and public awareness.

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