Pennsylvania Civics: How Your State Government Works

by bam

A practical, non-partisan guide to how the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania governs itself, and how you take part where you live. You'll learn Pennsylvania's current 1968 constitution and its unusual amendment path (a proposed amendment must pass the General Assembly in TWO consecutive sessions and then be approved by the voters, and Pennsylvania has NO citizen initiative, so only the legislature can start the process); the three state branches, including a partly-plural executive (the Governor and Lieutenant Governor run as a JOINT TICKET in the general election, while the Attorney General, Auditor General, and Treasurer are each elected separately); the General Assembly (a 203-member House and a 50-member Senate, the largest full-time state legislature in the nation); and a court system whose appellate judges (Supreme, Superior, and Commonwealth courts) are ELECTED in partisan races to 10-year terms and then face nonpartisan yes/no RETENTION votes. You'll learn how a bill becomes a Pennsylvania law (including the Governor's line-item veto on appropriations and the two-thirds override), and Pennsylvania's local government (67 counties; home-rule charters; and a full set of active municipalities: cities, boroughs, and townships of the first and second class; Pennsylvania does NOT abolish townships). Finally you'll learn Pennsylvania's distinctive elections rules (no-excuse mail-in voting since Act 77 of 2019, voter ID for first-time voters, closed primaries, and no citizen initiative) before a lesson on how to get involved. Cited to Pennsylvania's own official sources (legis.state.pa.us, pa.gov/vote, pacourts.us, dced.pa.gov). Because state facts vary and change, the course flags time-sensitive and litigated items (like the ongoing court fights over mail-in voting and voter ID) and points you to Pennsylvania's own sources to confirm the current rule.