The Merit Shop Advocacy Update

ABC Keystone Merit Shop Advocacy Blog

As you know, ABC Pennsylvania is comprised of four regional chapters with nearly 1,400 member companies who collectively employ over 65,000 Pennsylvanians. Our advocacy efforts do not come without the commitment and participation of our members – and we have a lot to be proud of in 2022.

The Merit Shop Advocacy Update

ABC Keystone Merit Shop Advocacy Blog

Did you vote or are you prepared to vote? The campaigns are entering the final stretch and the finish line is two short weeks away. Mail-in voting is currently underway, and as expected, is already knee-deep in political and legal battles. A few weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling saying that undated mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania should not be counted by county board of elections. Despite the federal ruling, the Pennsylvania Secretary of State issued a statement advising counties to continue to follow the agency’s guidance, which instructs counties to count undated ballots. Of course, the statement has initiated lawsuit filings and several counties have announced that they will separate dated and undated ballots barring a court decision.

The Merit Shop Advocacy Update

ABC Keystone Merit Shop Advocacy Blog

If you follow politics, you might have heard the phrase, “October surprise.” This is political terminology to refer to a major news event – perhaps scandalous to some degree – that is aimed to influence the outcome of an election. With the popularity of early voting and mail-in voting, it will be interesting to see how much these stories will matter. It will also be interesting to see if strategists will re-evaluate the timing of how and when to “release” this kind of information. Who knows, maybe October surprises will turn into August surprises.