In 2019, Pennsylvania voters decided on a state-level constitutional amendment to guarantee crime victims more legal rights, in a model named Marsy's Law. Over 74% voted in favor, but following a lawsuit which successfully argued that the amendment contained more than one topic, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania declared that the results could not be certified. Background
Legislation for Amendment Senate Bill 1011 (SB 1011) of the 2018 legislative session, and House Bill 276 (HB 276) of the 2019 legislative session placed the amendment on the ballot.
2018 session SB 1011 was first voted on by the state Senate on March 21, 2018, and was agreed to in a unanimous, 50 to 0 vote. However, on June 5, the State House Judiciary Committee voted 26 to 0 to adopt an amendment to the bill, which had been offered by State Rep. Ron Marsico.
On June 20, the state House voted 197 to 0 to approve the bill. +June 20, 2018, vote in the state HousePolitical affiliationVoted forVoted againstNot votingDemocratic Party79 -3Republican Party118 -3Total197 -6 As the bill had been amended, it was sent back to the state Senate, where on June 21, it agreed to the new version in a 48 to 0 vote. +June 21, 2018, vote in the state SenatePolitical affiliationVoted forVoted againstNot votingDemocratic Party15 -1Republican Party33 - -Total48 -1
2019 session HB276 was first voted on by the state House on April 8, 2019. This time, however, 8 representatives voted against. +April 8, 2019, vote in the state HousePolitical affiliationVoted forVoted againstNot votingDemocratic Party84 72Republican Party106 1 2Total190 84
In the state Senate, the bill received a vote on June 19, where it was passed unanimously. +June 19, 2019, vote in the state SenatePolitical affiliationVoted forVoted againstNot votingDemocratic Party22 - -Republican Party28 - -Total50 - - Contents The following title and question was shown to voters:PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA
Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to grant certain rights to crime victims, including to be treated with fairness, respect and dignity; considering their safety in bail proceedings; timely notice and opportunity to take part in public proceedings; reasonable protection from the accused; right to refuse discovery requests made by the accused; restitution and return of property; proceedings free from delay; and to be informed of these rights, so they can enforce them?
() YES
() NO
Results The following table shows the uncertified county-level results of the amendment: CountyYesNoCitation#%#%Adams11,56578.763,11921.24Allegheny177,14369.4777,86330.53Armstrong8,20463.864,64236.14Beaver27,76479.197,29520.81Bedford6,86667.113,36532.89Berks56,21977.1816,61822.82Blair16,92075.775,41224.23Bradford9,43477.652,71622.35Bucks100,00075.5632,34324.44Butler26,35272.589,95627.42Cambria24,56179.196,45520.81Cameron1,20081.4727318.53Carbon10,19877.832,90522.17Centre19,53065.710,19734.30Chester89,89272.9733,30527.03Clarion5,38666.482,71633.52Clearfield11,97974.854,02525.15Clinton5,02368.872,27031.13Columbia7,08773.652,53626.35Crawford - - - -Cumberland37,11672.8413,83927.16Dauphin34,76175.4811,29524.52Delaware84,37676.4525,98723.55Elk6,23478.031,75521.97Erie41,32877.9711,67422.03Fayette15,09477.844,29822.16Forest94675.5630624.44Franklin16,21272.056,28827.95Fulton1,69669.1175830.89Greene6,83474.752,30825.25Huntingdon5,40467.292,62732.71Indiana11,09869.684,82830.32Jefferson 4,544 59.86 3,047 40.14Juniata2,94168.991,32231.01Lackawanna31,42975.5110,19524.49Lancaster53,84975.8417,15224.16Lawrence14,05577.764,02122.24Lebanon16,22973.75,79026.30Lehigh38,69473.6613,83726.34Luzerne34,05074.4311,69625.57Lycoming15,44766.37,85033.70McKean - - - -Mercer15,04274.045,27525.96Mifflin4,73571.911,85028.09Monroe19,50982.94,02517.10Montgomery133,22474.0546,69925.95Montour2,41978.2167421.79Northampton36,01472.3513,76127.65Northumberland10,71375.583,46224.42Perry - - - -Philadelphia180,01973.0266,53126.98Pike5,86778.591,59821.41Potter 2,815 67.25 1,371 32.75Schuylkill24,01278.216,69121.79Snyder3,81064.872,06335.13Somerset14,14078.173,94921.83Sullivan1,26872.7147627.29Susquehanna 6,541 73.59 2,347 26.41Election Summary Report Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania Municipal General Election November 5, 2019 Results – via Susquehanna County Elections BureauTioga5,67770.292,39929.71Union4,96864.472,73835.53Venango6,81570.022,91829.98Warren 6,070 72.13 1,640 19.49Washington32,01573.3211,65126.68Wayne 8,192 79.63 2,095 20.37A worker at the Wayne County Board of Elections.Westmoreland55,77674.0719,52325.93Wyoming 4,610 72.23 1,772 27.77York 50,307 77.73 14,413 22.27State total1,765,38474.01620,10425.99
Aftermath On October 10, 2019, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and Lorraine Haw filed a lawsuit alleging that the measure violated Pennsylvania's constitutional amendment separate-vote requirement. The basis of this argument stemmed from Article XI of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which states: "When two or more amendments shall be submitted they shall be voted upon separately." The litigation also argued the summary provided on the ballot was incomplete.
On October 30, before Election Day, Judge Ellen Ceisler enjoined the acting secretary of state Kathy Boockvar from counting or certifying votes cast on the amendment, pending a final ruling.
On October 31, the next day, Boockvar appealed the injunction. On November 4, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the preliminary injunction in a 4 to 3 ruling.
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court On June 10, 2020, arguments for the case were heard by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. On January 7, 2021, the court ruled 3 to 2 that the measure violated Pennsylvania's single-amendment rule.
The ruling was appealed by four individuals, Shameekah Moore, Martin Vickless, Kristin June Irwin, and Kelly Williams, to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, after Gov. Tom Wolf decided to not appeal the decision.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court On September 21, 2021, arguments were heard by the court. On December 21, two months later, the court ruled 6 to 1 to upheld the Commonwealth Court's decision.
References
Notes