Secretary of State Al Schmidt argued in a Dec. 16 court filing that the DOJ “seeks to usurp” the state’s authority by making demands that violate voter privacy, lack authorization and contradict the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Pennsylvania’s top election official wants a judge to toss out a lawsuit by the federal government demanding “highly sensitive personal information” about the state’s voters. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Pennsylvania in September after the state initially failed to turn over data about its nearly 9 million registered voters.

The use of provisional ballots has risen in recent elections, as has the number of ballots rejected because of issues with the outer envelope.

Other pro-retention spending was done by Pennsylvanians for Judicial Fairness, a state-level super PAC. It has poured money from unions, trial lawyers, billionaires, national super PACs, and dark money nonprofits into the commonwealth’s statewide judicial races since 2023.

The state’s 22nd District (Lehigh County) and 42nd District (Allegheny County) were left vacant after the November election. Both representatives serving the districts were elected to other offices: Rep. Joshua Siegel (D) will be Lehigh County’s next county executive, and Rep. Dan Miller (D) will now sit on the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

A lawsuit by independent voters including commentator Michael Smerconish is seeking to end Pennsylvania’s closed primary election system, which prohibits them from participating.

Former Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler (R) will not seek re-election in 2026. Cutler confirmed the decision on Monday, sharing a statement that says, “After much prayer and discussions with my family,