Statement: League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania on Recent U.S. Supreme Court Rulings

STATEWIDE – The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania (LWVPA) finds the recent Supreme Court rulings, specifically those on birthright citizenship, mail-in ballots, campaign finance, and barring transgender people from high school sports, to be a mixed bag.

We are relieved that in a 5-4 ruling, the Court upheld a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and received within five days of Election Day. While this ruling does not affect mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, which are still due by 8:00 pm on Election Day, this is a critical ruling that ensures mail-in ballots that arrive at Election offices by Election Day in Mississippi and 18 other states may be counted.

We are also relieved that the Court upheld birthright citizenship, though, we are alarmed at the slim majority (6-3 support). Birthright citizenship was established in the 14th Amendment of our Constitution and has been upheld in numerous court rulings throughout our nation's history.

The LWVPA is deeply troubled by the Court's decision to overturn the decades-old restrictions on campaign spending by political parties and the extent to which parties can coordinate with candidates, which will only serve to strengthen the strangle-hold big money and wealthy donors have on our politics.

The League is equally troubled by the joint rulings that expanded presidential power and the Executive Branch’s control over the various independent regulatory agencies that are needed to faithfully execute our laws, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. As a good governance organization, the League advocates for constitutional limits on authority and nonpartisan enforcement of rules and laws.

Finally, we believe the Court's 6-3 ruling allowing states to ban transgender girls from participating in sports at publicly funded schools is abhorrent. This ruling establishes that trans people have fewer rights than other Americans, essentially creating a separate class of citizens. The LWVPA believes that every American – regardless of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sex, religion, political party, or creed – has the fundamental right to exist as their authentic selves, and to not just survive but thrive.

“These rulings, even the decisions we believe are consistent with the Constitution and uphold democratic principles and norms, reflect this Supreme Court’s systematic attempts to strip away Americans' most basic, fundamental, and long-established freedoms,” said Amy Widestrom, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.