It was said that people in Arkansas frequently say “Thank God for Mississippi.” Arkansas usually ranks very low on almost any indicator of social progress. It fares poorly on measures of infant mortality, smoking rates, obesity, and other ills. On the other hand, it is seldom at the very bottom. That honor often goes to Mississippi.
Voters across the nation, beset by all kinds of voter suppression laws and electoral shenanigans, can look to Pennsylvania and say, “Well, at least we aren’t the worst. That would be Pennsylvania.”
October 30 (that’s today) is the deadline for applying for an absentee ballots. Today, however, because of Hurricane Sandy, many election offices were closed, including those in Carbon and Schuylkill counties. Governor Corbett announced that the deadline for absentee ballot applications would be extended, but he didn’t say if that was for the state or for certain counties. It is also unclear whether the county Election Boards must rule on the extension.
What wasn’t extended was the deadline for getting the absentee ballot to the Registrar. It remains 5 p.m. on Friday, November 2. You drop off your application tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. The office mails out the ballot on November 1. You get it Friday, November 2. The deadline to return it is THAT DAY.
This is the same state in which a judge ruled you didn’t need picture ID, but the state continued to advertise that you did. The judge then ruled in response to a suit by ACLU that the state had to change its advertising. His deadline was FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION.
This state is way at the bottom.
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