It has long been a joke((Former Governor Brendan Byrne is quoted as having said: “I want to be buried in Hudson County so that I can remain active in politics.”)) (with perhaps more than a little reality((See, e.g., N.J. investigating freeholder for allegedly delivering election ballot of dead man, source says; Can the dead vote in NJ? Sometimes; Among Voters In New Jersey, G.O.P. Sees Dead People))) that in New Jersey (especially Hudson County), the dead often vote. Pennsylvania may have us beat though; the Democratic leader in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives wants to count a candidate who passed away two weeks before the election to get her majority.
Here are the basics. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is composed of members from 203 districts, so, if there are no vacancies, 102 is the magic number for a majority. The terms of members start on December 1 following the election, but the state constitution does not schedule the house to meet until noon on the first Tuesday of January.
Prior to the 2022 election Republicans held a majority; Republican Brian Cutler was the speaker and Democrat Joanna McClinton the minority floor leader. In the 2022 election Democratic candidates won in 102 districts and Republicans in 101. What makes the resulting Democratic majority questionable is the fact that long-time Democratic representative Tony DeLuca had died about two weeks before the election. As it was too late to replace him, his name remained on the ballot and received the most votes. On November 30, in one of his last acts as speaker, Cutler signed a writ of election for a special election on February 7 to fill the vacancy.
On December 1, however, McClinton held an unannounced ceremony in the House chamber in which she was sworn in (the accounts differ on whether it was just as a representative or as majority leader). She proceeded to claim that as majority leader she is acting speaker until the House chooses a speaker.((There is apparently a precedent where the majority leader served as acting speaker for a few weeks following the death of the incumbent speaker before the House met to fill the vacancy. I am unable to get enough facts to see what this “acting speaker” actually did; I have found no other basis for the claim.)) If DeLuca is not counted, neither party had a majority at that time. The same week (again, the accounts give insufficient detail to determine the date and whether it was before or after McClinton’s claiming power) two other Democrats who were elected in November resigned their seats because they had been elected to higher offices (lieutenant governor and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives). McClinton then issued writs of election (for February 7) to fill three vacancies. (If you’re keeping score at home, the count is now 101 Republicans and 99 Democrats.)
Cutler has filed a lawsuit to seek a judicial ruling and has also held his own swearing in ceremony to claim the post of majority leader. (At least until the vacancies are filled, the math seems to be in his favor.)
Jay Bohn
December 15, 2022