Election chaos at the Pa. and U.S. capitols

The mayhem at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday was preceded by a different type of chaos at the Pennsylvania Capitol here in Harrisburg.

On Tuesday, Republicans in the state Senate refused to seat Democrat Jim Brewster, whose win had been certified by the state, Spotlight PA's Angela Couloumbis and Cynthia Fernandez report. 

Amid high emotions and partisan fingerpointing, Republicans also took the rare step of removing the Democratic lieutenant governor, John Fetterman, from presiding over the first session of the year. Democrats, in turn, responded by refusing to back Sen. Jake Corman from assuming the chamber’s top leadership position — an unusual maneuver on what is most often a largely ceremonial and bipartisan vote.

But those events were quickly overshadowed by violence in Washington after a mob of Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol to impede the official count of Electoral College votes.

Top Republicans in the state House and Senate said in statements the chaos was not acceptable. Those same lawmakers had earlier cast doubt on the integrity of the state’s presidential election.

So where do we go from here? Well, in Pennsylvania, both Republicans and Democrats are positioning their priorities for making changes to the Election Code. At the same time, county officials who actually run elections want to be front-and-center in the reform process, our Marie Albiges reports.

I hope you valued the 2020 election news we were able to bring you thanks to a partnership with Votebeat, which I'm happy to say will continue this year as Albiges covers redistricting. You can reach her with tips and ideas here.

—Sarah Anne Hughes, Spotlight PA

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— Sarah Anne Hughes, Spotlight PA