The future of Pennsylvania's no-excuse mail-voting law is now in the hands of the state's Supreme Court, with lawyers arguing over the measure's constitutionality in a high-stakes hearing held Tuesday.

The law, Act 77, was approved by the GOP-controlled legislature overwhelmingly in 2019. And while Republican legislators supported it at the time, it fell out of favor after President Donald Trump lost the state in 2020.

The law's Republican challengers — several of whom voted for it — argue the legislature does not have the power under the state constitution to make such a change without voters first approving a constitutional amendment.

In January, a lower appellate court agreed, but the Wolf administration appealed to the state's highest court, arguing that the challengers must (and can't) prove the constitution directly prohibits the legislative act in question.

THE CONTEXT: In Tuesday's Supreme Court hearing, lawyers for the state pointed to a section of the constitution that says elections shall occur by ballot "or by such other method as may be prescribed by law."

The implication is that since laws are made by the legislature, the legislature has the authority to make election changes as is. 

Lawyers for the Republican challengers, meanwhile, say another constitutional axiom requires people to vote in person, except in very narrow circumstances. Broadening those circumstances, they say, would require an amendment.

Several justices noted how that specific language harks back to a time in history when the focus was on protecting the vote for white men only.

They pushed back on the state's position, too, citing prior cases that found the only constitutional exception to in-person voting is voting by absentee ballot. 

It's unclear how quickly the court will rule. The primary is 10 weeks away and the mail-voting law remains in effect while under review.