Special Elections, Texting the Governor & Why It’s So Hard To Vote in PA

It’s the Friday news roundup! Pittsburgh had on impact on the whole dang state when we elected a new representative this week; Pennsylvanians will be automatically registered to vote at the DMV; our five most recent former governors would love to open our primary elections; the “revolving door” for lawmakers to become lobbyists is an increasing problem in Harrisburg; and Gov. Josh Shapiro opened a text line for constituents — if you have an iPhone.

We’re with Stephen Caruso of SpotlightPA and Kim Lyons, the new executive editor of the Pennsylvania Capitol-Star. 

We love to cite our sources:

• Stephen did a great summation of the 21st House District race
• Kim shared the new motor voter law for The Pennsylvania Capitol-Star
• Stephen points out for SpotlightPA that PennDOT isn’t exactly set up to absorb the change
• SpotlightPA’s Kate Huangpu reported on PA’s most recent five governors' shared letter in support of open primaries
• You can text Gov. Josh Shapiro at 717-788-8990 through the app Community
• Current state law bars elected officials and employees from lobbying their previous workplaces for a year, and Stephen reports there’s a bipartisan bill to extend the ban to two years

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