Pennsylvania grassroots stop GOP election theft.
The state Senate's top Republican announced Friday that he will recommend that Democratic Senator-elect Lindsey Williams be seated in Pennsylvania's legislature, likely ending the months-long political battle over whether she could take the post following a residency dispute.
In a letter to Ms. Williams on Friday, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati noted that the residency requirement -- that candidates for office must live in Pennsylvania for four years before being elected -- hadn't been fully vetted by the courts and that "no precise constitutional definition of residency exists," according to a release from his office.
Therefore, Mr. Scarnati wrote, he will recommend Ms. Williams be seated, meaning that barring any unforeseen developments, she will be sworn in to her 38th district seat on Jan. 1.
In an interview and statement, Ms. Williams reacted to the letter with kind words for Republican leaders and their caucus -- notably their "professionalism and efficiency in bringing this matter to a close as quickly as possible."
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Mr. Scarnati's statement came on a day when grassroots groups took coordinated action across the state calling on Republicans to seat Ms. Williams.
Inside the Allegheny County Courthouse at noon, a group of demonstrators gathered — a few big political names in tow, including Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa — to publicly “remind” the GOP that refusing to seat the Democratic senator-elect would impede democracy and ignore the will of the voters.
"If they can do it to me, they can do it to anybody,” Ms. Williams told a crowd of demonstrators inside the courthouse.
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2018/12/28/lindsey-williams-pa-senate-residency-dispute-gop-jeremy-shaffer-election-jay-costa-rich-fitzgerald/stories/201812280135
