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| Today: Guidance and directives, Philly rally, Shapiro speech, Vance campaign stop, pharmacy win, election involvement, and canine water rescue. |
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Guidance and directives issued by the Pennsylvania Department of State can help clarify state law and election procedures. For example, the department might offer guidance on an Election Day problem in order to avoid repeating it.
In November 2020, former Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar issued guidance the day before the election advising counties to tell voters of defects with their mail ballots so they could vote provisionally in person.
The recommendation drew strong reactions from Pennsylvania Republicans, who accused the agency of meddling in the election.
Various courts have ruled that Boockvar's guidance was lawful — but the narrative among some that the advice contributed to then-President Donald Trump's loss has remained.
Read Spotlight PA and Votebeat's full report: Elections 101: Department of State guidance was a 2020 lightning rod. This is how it works. |
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NOTABLE / QUOTABLE
"I don’t get too high when people say nice things about me, and I definitely don’t get low when people say not nice things about me."
—Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's response to a question about the public scrutiny he faced during the veepstakes |
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| Broad-winged hawk at Binky Lee Preserve in Chester Springs, via Elliott C. Send us your photos by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania. |
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VOUCHER DEBATE: Join us TODAY from 6-7 p.m. on Zoom for a live panel on the fight over school vouchers and their future in Pennsylvania. Register here and submit questions to events@spotlightpa.org.
BERKS BUREAU: Join Spotlight PA for a 45-minute Zoom session on our plans for a Berks County reporting bureau. Register for the session on Aug. 13 at noon here, and the session on Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. here.
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 FIRST RALLY: Democratic nominee Kamala Harris held her first campaign rally with running mate Tim Walz of Minnesota at Temple University in Philadelphia Tuesday. More than 12,000 people attended the event, where some voters told WHYY that "they felt rewarded by the campaign's energy."   INCOMPETENT PILOT: A flight instructor charged with involuntary manslaughter after his student pilot was killed in a crash had previously been involved in two other crashes with students, the Associated Press reports. Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia said in an unsealed indictment Monday that the instructor had surrendered his pilot's certificate in October 2021. He is also charged with 40 counts of flying illegally with passengers. X INQUIRY: Elon Musk, owner of X, created a super PAC that is under investigation by Michigan's secretary of state. The investigation is probing whether the PAC advertised and collected data illegally from users in swing states like Pennsylvania, the Capital-Star reports. Also, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt signed onto a letter warning Musk that an X chatbot was spreading election misinformation.  BUSINESS PRACTICES: A new Pennsylvania law requires more accountability from pharmacy benefit managers, and gives the state's insurance department additional tools to investigate them, WVIA reports. PBMs are "intermediaries between insurance providers, drug manufacturers, and pharmacies," and their practices can disadvantage independent pharmacies. |
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LIFEGUARD DOGS: A national nonprofit with a base in Pennsylvania is training dogs for water rescues.
CHASING WATERFALLS: These five Pennsylvania state parks are the best places to see waterfalls, according to the Erie-Times News.
FAMILY SUPPORT: A fundraiser to support the family of a state trooper who died off duty on July 31 has raised almost $50,000 in its first few days.
PHILLY OLYMPICS?: The Inquirer (paywall) proposes the Olympics take place in Philly and include local-inspired events like greased pole climbing and rotisserie chicken-eating.
FAIR CONTROVERSY: A Nazi banner stained with the blood of an American soldier sparked debate at the Schuylkill County Fair. |
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Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag. Answers submitted by 5:30 p.m. on issue date will be counted. Please include your first name and last initial. U E U P R S C R L C A
Yesterday's answer: Tumescence
Congrats to our daily winners: Jody A., Don H., Bob C., Tim A., Bella Z., Stacy S., Jon W., Bill Z., Elaine C., Louie C., Jeffrey F., Amelia M., Perry H., George C., Timothy A., Stanley J., Jane R., Annette I., Joel S., Julie K., Beth H., Susan N., Wendy A., Kimberly D., Barbara F., Jeffrey F., Starr B., Tom M., and Jill C.
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