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A mail-in ballot option for all voters is just one of the voting changes for Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election year. Wochit

The last presidential election was historic in Pennsylvania for multiple reasons, including a voter registration surge.

More than 738,000 new voters registered in 2016 to cast ballots for the first time.

Most years, about 150,000 to 200,000 new voters register in Pennsylvania, but having the first woman on a major ballot and the Trump phenomenon yielded a surge four years ago.

Similarly, there was a surge of new voters in the 2018 midterms when Pennsylvania elected a record number of women. Some 330,594 voters registered that year.

This year, Pennsylvania is seeing another uptick in voter registration. Just a little more than two months into the year, it's impossible to say what the final count will be in 2020. But current registrations are already outpacing the 2018 midterms, though they are about half of the unprecedented number of registrations in 2016.

As of Monday, there were 34,729 new voter applications in Pennsylvania, according to the most recent numbers available from the Department of State.

Here are five things you should know about this year's numbers so far, according to a York Daily Record analysis.

Results: Biden pulls ahead on Super Tuesday

One of the keys to President Trump's Pennsylvania upset in 2016 was the nearly 200,000 voters that had switched parties to vote for him in the Republican primary and general election.

Now, it appears more Republicans are switching parties than Democrats.

There's always a theory that Pennsylvanians switch parties to be able to vote in the state's closed primary, which limits voters to cast ballots only for their registered party.

There's no way to prove that on an Excel spreadsheet, but the numbers do show that 28,137 Republicans and third-party voters have switched to the Democratic party since January. In that same time frame, some 18,937 Democrats and third-party voters have switched to the Republican party.

Election 2020: After Super Tuesday, Pa.'s 'third senator' Joe Biden looks to win home state primary

The primaries are here! How does one get elected in the first place and what is in store for the Democratic National Convention in 2020? We explain. USA TODAY

Register to vote by April 13: The Pa. primary is April 28.

For decades, a seven-county region in southcentral Pennsylvania was a Republican stronghold. And to be clear, there are still more registered Republicans than Democrats in the overwhelming majority of those counties.

But Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, Lancaster and York counties are changing. Some areas, like Cumberland, Dauphin and Lancaster, are seeing a surge of Democratic voters. And York County, thoughoutpaced in population by Lancaster County, is seeing more voters switch to the Republican Party than any other county in southcentral Pennsylvania.

But overall, more voters are switching to the Democratic Party in southcentral Pennsylvania than the Republican Party, and it's a statistic that started to change in 2019.

In the last two months, some 3,870 Republicans and third-party voters have switched to the Democratic Party, while 2,156 Democrats and third-party voters have switched to the Republican Party.

The biggest shift from Republican to Democrat occurred in Lancaster (657), Cumberland (403) and Dauphin (373) counties. The biggest shift from Democrat to Republican occurred in York County (398).

Hundreds of votes or a few thousand votes don't seem like much in a large state with 8.5 million voters. But in a battleground state like Pennsylvania, which Trump won by a narrow 44,000 votes in 2016, those numbers matter.

And it doesn't just affect the presidential race. It could have a big impact on down-ballot races.

Jesse White, district operations director for Progressive Turnout Project and political consultant at Perpetual Fortitude, is counting on it.

Progressive Turnout Project is heavily focused on flipping the 10th congressional district in Pennsylvania from red to blue. Rep. Scott Perry, a Republican from York County, narrowly defeated Democratic challenger George Scott in 2018.

The grassroots organization is working to increase voter turnout in the district, whichincludes York, Cumberland and Dauphin counties, to elect a Democrat.

"Southeastern Pennsylvania usually votes blue, southwestern Pennsylvania has been leaning red. But southcentral Pennsylvania is growing more purple," White said.

Read more:Over 20,000 Pennsylvanians register for new mail-in ballots

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The City of Pittsburgh is reliably blue. But the counties surrounding it, where a fire hall fish fry is a rite of spring and Steelers flags proudly wave from front porches and trucks, are full of red.

The upper-class Republican communities in Allegheny County have been joined by blue-collar areas in Beaver and Washington Counties, and beyond, as they bought into Trump's signature slogan, "Make America Great Again."

A trend that started in 2016 is continuing this year. There are fewer Democrats this year than there were in 2016 in Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties. Meanwhile, there are more Republicans in each of those counties than there were in 2016.

For example:

Changes in 2020: New mail-in ballots, other new voting rules in Pennsylvania

There's been a saying for decades that you can't win Pennsylvania without winning the Philadelphia suburbs. Trump proved that untrue, at least for one year, when he won in 2016 without winning Philadelphia and its suburbs.

But the old adage becametrue again in 2018, when a five-county region in southeastern Pennsylvania sent a record number of women to U.S. Congress and state offices.

In 2019, history was made again. Democrats were elected to all five seats on the Delaware County Council, which had been held by a majority of Republicans since the Civil War. That same year, Democrats won the Board of Commissioners in Bucks County for the first time since 1983.

This year could yield a record Democratic turnout in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties. As of Monday, the five-county region had added 75,574 more registered Democrats than in 2016. The biggest increase was an addition of 20,214 Democrats in Montgomery County since the last presidential election.

In the same time period, the region has shed 31,384 Republicans from its voting rolls. The biggest loss was in Delaware County, where there are 16,981 fewer Republicans than in 2016.

Voting in 2020: Pa. lawmakers could change law to allow early counting of mail-in ballots

From registering to vote to election day, here are the dates that are important for voters to know. Wochit

Pennsylvania could rockthe vote a little harder.

There are 644,835 inactive voters in the state, including 418,777 inactive Democrats and 226,058 inactive Republicans, according to voter registration records.

The state defines an inactive voter as someone who has not voted in five years or has moved and not registered to vote in their new Pennsylvania county.

Think of a Penn State football game. Imagine a sellout crowd at Beaver Stadium. Multiply it by 6. Add 5,403 more people. That's how many registered voters in Pennsylvaniaare not actually voting.

That includes 80,862 voters in southcentral Pennsylvania throughout Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York Counties.

A closer look:

While those numbers pale in comparison to the more than 6.6 million active voters in Pennsylvania, every vote matters especially in a battleground state. The 644,835 inactive voters here could easily decide the election.

Remember, in 2016, it was 44,000 votes that decided the winner.

The USA Today Network is working to register every voter, make it easy for voters to check their registration and find their polling place. You can find all of that here.

Candy Woodall is a reporter for the USA Today Network. She can be reached at 717-480-1783 or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.

This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.

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Pa. voter trends: Republicans switching parties in reliably red counties and more - York Daily Record

The wine bottles were not meant to make light of alcoholism or the crime's seriousness, said state House Majority Leader Chet Pollert.

Kirsten Baesler, superintendent of public instruction who faces pending charges of driving under the influence for a Feb. 26 stop along Interstate 94 in Bismarck, was the keynote speaker at the Lincoln Day Dinner held at the Jamestown Knights of Columbus for Republicans in Districts 12 and 29.

The districts sold several bottles of Baeslers Bulldog Red Baesler graduated from Flasher Public Schools, whose mascot is a bulldog and Supt. Baeslers Honor Roll White, which features an A+ on the label. That night, Baesler, a Republican, signed the bottles of wine at the request of fundraiser organizers but did not take any home, Pollert said.

"I was told it was a longstanding tradition for the districts to auction off bottles of wine that had been personalized for the keynote speaker and signed by that person," Baesler said in a statement Tuesday, March 3. I was unaware of this tradition beforehand. I was told they were a major piece of the fundraising auction and that I would only be signing them.

Baesler declined to comment beyond the statement.

The event was meant to raise money to help reelect Republicans in the districts, said Pollert, a Republican from District 29. The wine was not meant to make a mockery of the superintendents office, drunken driving or anyone who has been arrested for a DUI, he said.

Anybody who has problems with alcoholism, or anybody who's had a car accident caused by a person from (drunken) driving, this was not to be a slap in the face for that, he said. I actually went away from that night thinking this was a pretty good social event. People had a good time.

Dwaine Heinrich, the mayor of Jamestown who also serves on the District 12 GOP executive committee, started the tradition of selling wine and pies in 2000. Last year, the districts sold wine bottles with State Auditor Josh Galleons name on them.

This is a tradition that has been done here for years as more of a memento of the evening and a fundraising gimmick, Heinrich said.

No one was endorsed for public office at the event, Pollert said. He estimated about 100 people attended.

Pollert apologized if the events of the fundraiser offended anyone, adding that was not the districts intentions.

If the districts had canceled the event, asked Baesler not to speak or declined to sell the wine, the story would have twisted into the GOP embarrassing the superintendent, Heinrich said. Instead, he feels leaders chose the high road.

Are we going to show compassion to someone whos hurting, or are we going to further hurt someone whos hurting? he asked. If people take that the wrong way, as far as Im concerned, thats OK with me.

Heinrich said he would take responsibility for the fundraiser since it was his idea, adding Baesler should not be blamed.

If theres any fault on the situation to place on anyone, it is on the people who are trying to make this something other than what it was, he said.

Baesler was booked for the event in the fall and reportedly asked if the districts wanted someone else to speak at the fundraiser after she was arrested.

She had not been charged with a DUI as of Tuesday. State troopers said she refused to submit to a chemical test to determine her blood alcohol content. No booking mug was taken.

The Burleigh County State's Attorney's Office said it is reviewing the case.

Baesler previously announced she would seek reelection to her office this year. She has held the post since 2013.

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Republicans auction wine signed by North Dakota K-12 leader days after her DUI arrest - INFORUM

Former Democratic Beaver County sheriff candidate Wayne Kress, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat twice, has become a Republican.

Saying that he has always been a conservative, two-time Democratic Beaver County sheriff candidate Wayne Kress has become a Republican after a falling out with the countys Democratic Party.

So far, Ive been accepted with open arms, Kress, 49, said on Thursday. Im still the same person and the people who know me, who are Democrats, are still behind me.

Republican Sheriff Tony Guy defeated Kress for the seat in 2015 and 2019. Both men are retired state troopers.

Last fall, following his second loss, Kress told The Times that he might reconsider his future as a Democrat.

Kress said he quietly changed his party affiliation about a month or so ago following a disagreement with some unnamed Democratic committee members over a protest for gun rights at the Virginia Capitol on Jan. 20, the day honoring civil rights icon the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

A staunch Second Amendment supporter, Kress said he supported the protest and said it was appropriate for the holiday because King believed in free speech and peaceful protesting.

But, Kress said the Democrats he argued with labeled the protesters racists and Nazis, and condemned him for supporting them. Im not going to change my views or values based on what they tell me to be, he said.

Later that same night, Kress said he resigned from the Beaver County Democratic Committees executive board and a few days later changed his registration online.

Kress said the switch was the inevitable result of his conservative views on guns and abortion colliding with county Democratic leaders trying to make the party more progressive.

Beaver County Democratic Committee Chairwoman Terri Mitko did not respond to messages on Thursday.

While he has attended some GOP fundraisers and petition signings, Kress said he does not have his sights set on running for any particular seat as a Republican.

A Center Township resident, Kress lives in the district represented by state Rep. Josh Kail, R-15, Beaver, and the next countywide election will not be until 2023.

I didnt do it for any political gain or political advantage, he said. I just think that in todays world my views are more with Republicans than when I signed up with the Democrats when I was 18.

Originally posted here:
Kress becomes a Republican after 'falling out' with Democratic Party - The Times

In the Trumpified GOP of 2020, the battle among Republicans over who is or isnt sufficiently supportive of President Donald Trump be downright silly. Many Republicans fear that being accused of being insufficiently pro-Trump could be the political kiss of death. And Politicos Matt Dixon reports that in the important swing state of Florida, some of Gov. Ron DeSantis fellow Republicans are accusing him of not doing enough to help Trump win reelection.

In 2018s gubernatorial race, the far-right DeSantis narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee: former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. DeSantis, more than anyone, knows how much of a battleground state Florida can be: Gillum, who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, ran to the left and just barely lost while DeSantis ran as a Trump loyalist and just barely won.

DeSantis was a Trump loyalist when the president helped propel the two-term Republican congressman into the governors mansion in 2018, Dixon explains. But Trumps Republican allies in Florida now are spreading the word behind the governors back that DeSantis isnt doing enough to repay the political debt.

It remains to be seen whether 2020s Democratic presidential nominee will be Sanders or former Vice President Joe Biden; following Super Tuesday, the primary is essentially a two-person competition between Biden and Sanders. And Bidens supporters are arguing that he would have an easier time winning Floridas 29 electoral votes than Sanders. Florida, a state that went to President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and to Trump in 2016, could turn out to be a real nail-biter on Election Night.

Some of the Florida Republicans quoted in Dixons article insist that there is no tension between Trump and DeSantis, including Rep. Matt Gaetz and Alia Faraj-Johnson (a spokesperson for the Florida GOP). But others Dixon quotes dont see it that way. An anonymously quoted source described by Dixon as a Trump campaign staffer told Politico, It might not be a DeSantis problem, but there is definitely a fucking problem.

That source also told Politico, Florida doesnt have a political leader at the moment who is working to reelect the president. The state party doesnt seem to be building a significant ground game because they lack resources and direction.

Another GOP source in Florida, described by Dixon as a person familiar with party finances, told Politico that a growing point of friction between DeSantis and Trumps reelection is the money raised from a Republican dinner in Florida in December. According to that source, The lack of money being available to the general party is making people around the president suspicious of what the governor is trying to accomplish.

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Read more from the original source:
Behind the governors back: Florida Republicans are accusing Ron DeSantis of not doing enough for Trumps reelection campaign - AlterNet

When Oregon Republicans fled the Capitol a week ago, much of the news coverage and social media discussion in the state focused on the walkout and the climate cap-and-trade bill the GOP sought to kill or have referred to voters.

That began to shift late last week, with news that the first Oregon case of presumptive coronavirus was diagnosed on Friday in the states populous Portland metropolitan area. By Monday there were three Oregon adults with the diagnosis, including one who attended a youth basketball game in Umatilla County.

Oregon has yet to follow Washington, where the coronavirus has so far caused more fatalities, in declaring a state of emergency. The Oregon Health Authority had the resources it needed to work with local health agencies and medical providers as of Sunday, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. But Brown also was ready to declare an emergency if and when necessary, her spokesman said.

Washington also has something Oregon doesnt right now: a full Legislature, meeting and voting on bills. This includes a $100 million emergency funding request from that states health secretary, the Northwest News Network reported.

The increased interest in Oregon leaders response to the spreading virus could pose a quandary for Republicans, most of whom remain out of state in order to block Democrats from passing cap-and-trade or any other bills.

On Monday afternoon, Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove, said he was on the phone with the House Republican caucus when a reporter called. Barreto represents the town of Weston, where the basketball game took place in a local school gym.

Quite frankly, I dont know if I can do anything if I was back that I couldnt do over the phone, Barreto said. Really, (Oregon Health Authority) has got the lead on that and I would think the commissioners here in Umatilla County are right there beside them.

Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, also represents Weston. He could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon regarding whether the spread of coronavirus is impacting his decision to stay away from the Capitol and likely outside Oregon.

Meanwhile, one of the two Republicans who has remained at the Capitol, Rep. Cheri Helt of Bend, scheduled a roundtable at a library in her district tonight to discuss preparations for coronavirus.

It is important that we efficiently and effectively communicate with our community to tell our neighbors about the work that is being done to prevent a public health crisis, Helt said in a statement. She invited local government leaders and health professionals to join her for the discussion.

Democrats, who have continued to hold committee meetings this week on climate change, budget bills and other legislation, are also turning their attention to Oregons response to the virus. Senate Human Services Chair Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, scheduled a Wednesday afternoon briefing on how the state is handling care for high-risk populations including older Oregonians, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people living in institutional settings and people experiencing homelessness.

The governor also used the campaign apparatus she built for her 2018 reelection to contact her supporters directly with an emailed update.

We are working day and night to contain this disease, Gov. Kate Brown wrote in the email. And as we tackle this challenge, we will be open with the public and share information as quickly as possible. In fact, we announced the first confirmed case within just a few hours of learning the test results.

Christopher McKnight Nichols, a history professor and director of the Oregon State University Center for the Humanities, has written about how governments responded to the 1918 flu pandemic and is closely following the legislative Republican walkouts. He said most Republicans absence from the state during this critical time could bear consequences in this years general election.

In November, one of the cudgels that Democrats have to brandish against Republicans is they walked out at a critical time for Oregonians, McKnight Nichols said. You can imagine this will have a pretty long tail.

Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | 503-294-4034 | @hborrud

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See more here:
With coronavirus spreading in Oregon, will Republicans rethink their Capitol boycott? - OregonLive