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See how PA's voter registration has changed since '08

Plus, one state House race is still undecided.

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A daily newsletter by The logo of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom producing investigative journalism for Pennsylvania.
Your Postmaster: Tanisha Thomas



Tuesday, May 7, 2024
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Today: Voter shift, delivery desert, Penn encampment, ballot case, Shell complaints, and postponed measure.
REGISTRATION CHANGE
The Democratic and Republican parties in Pennsylvania are within half a million registered voters of each other for the first time in at least 16 years.
 
Democrats’ registration advantage over Republicans is shrinking — from a 12% advantage in April 2008 to about a 4% advantage in April 2024, according to a Spotlight PA analysis. People registered as independent or third-party voters have increased from 11% in 2008 to 15% this year. 
 
Political consultants say this growth could indicate the rejection of major political parties and wide apathy that results in low voter turnout. But experts also caution that while registration trends can indicate how voters feel, they can’t tell how a closely divided state like Pennsylvania will vote. 

Read the full report: Where Pennsylvania has lost Democrats since 2008, and what it means for the November election
Support Spotlight PA's unmatched election reporting that puts voters first.
NOTABLE / QUOTABLE

“Don’t you apologize. We owe you an apology.”

—Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel to Kensington residents at a community meeting ahead of a planned encampment sweep
📷 POST IT
Cumberland Valley farmland and South Mountain from the Appalachian Trail near Boiling Springs, via Robert S.  Send us your photos by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania
a vast land of green grass with hills in the background
DAILY RUNDOWN
Today's top news story in Pennsylvania.
ALT OPTIONS: Elk County residents hope to bring labor and delivery services back to the area after Penn Highlands Healthcare shuttered a maternity unit last week, Spotlight PA reports. The nonprofit said money did not influence its decision to discontinue birth services at its St. Marys facility and that patients will be redirected to a “higher level of care.” Still, local officials worry the loss will deter people from moving to the region.
 
Today's second top news story in Pennsylvania.
MIXED MESSAGES: Interim President Larry Jameson said the Gaza Solidarity Encampment is making Penn's campus “less safe” and suggested the organizers are more interested in “confrontation” than negotiating an end to the demonstration, the Daily Pennsylvanian reports. Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine called the email an attempt to “publicly misconstrue and disparage” their efforts. 
 
Today's third top news story in Pennsylvania.
UNDECIDED WINNER: Two weeks after the primary election, the Republican race for state House District 117 in Luzerne County has yet to be called, WVIA reports. As of Monday, challenger James Walsh led state Rep. Mike Cabell by just four votes. Walsh appeared in court Monday asking a panel of judges to reject six mail ballots submitted by voters who failed to complete the year on the outer return envelope, the Citizens’ Voice reports; a ruling is expected Wednesday. 

Today's fourth top news story in Pennsylvania.
PLANT PROBLEMS: People who live near Shell’s ethane cracker plant in Beaver County say it has become a plague for the community, Inside Climate News reports. Residents have alleged the release of noxious chemicals, ongoing noise, and flashing lights in the middle of the night. Others have left the area to avoid the plant altogether. 

Today's fifth top news story in Pennsylvania.
PROPOSAL DELAY: Proposed legislation aimed at reducing the number of guns confiscated by the Transportation Security Administration at Pittsburgh International Airport is on hold, TribLIVE reports. State Rep. Dan Frankel (D., Allegheny) said he is talking with law enforcement and stakeholders to ensure the language is effective enough to prompt change. TSA agents had seized 14 guns this year as of April 30.
🗞️ KNOW YOUR NEWS? Prove it with this week's Great PA News Quiz: college protests, MLB ‘fiasco,’ and an Obama-era loophole lingers.
IN OTHER NEWS
CAMPAIGN VISIT: Abbott Elementary actress Sheryl Lee Ralph will join Vice President Kamala Harris in Montgomery County to discuss women’s reproductive rights on Wednesday, The Inquirer (paywall) reports.  
 
‘THANK GOD’: A pastor at a Pittsburgh-area church credits divine intervention for saving his life Sunday after a gun jammed as a man attempted to shoot him, TribLIVE reports. 
 
SCRAPPED APPEARANCE: Dickinson College rescinded its offer to a Philadelphia-based pundit to speak at its commencement on May 19. Faculty and students criticized Michael Smerconish’s book defending racial profiling at airports, per PennLive.
 
BALLPARK TOUR: A Pittsburgh man’s eight-year journey to see the Pirates play at all 30 MLB parks recently ended at the Oakland Coliseum, WTAE reports. 
 
RUNNING WUNDERKIND: A 10-year-old girl from Butler County not only improved her time when she ran the Pittsburgh 5K on Saturday — she also placed in the top 10 in the female division, KDKA reports. 
Get Spotlight PA's exclusive "New Serving the Truth" kitchen apron.
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SCRAMBLER
Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag. Answers submitted by 5:30 p.m. on issue date will be counted.
 
E B M A T I I N L H

Yesterday's answer: Ragamuffin

Congrats to our daily winners:  Stacy S., Elaine C., Don H., Bob C., Jon W., Lynne E., Richard A., Beth H., Kimberly D., Jane R., Barbara F., Cecilia W., Karen K., Wendy A., Rick A., Willem B., Alan B., Cynthia B., Susan N., Jeffrey F., Ada M., Vicki U., David W., Tom M., Amelia M, and Judith D.
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