Summary
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted mandamus in part and ordered the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to issue writs of election for special elections to fill six vacant House seats. The Court held that the Pennsylvania Constitution imposed a mandatory, ministerial duty to issue the writs and construed the applicable Election Code provision narrowly to avoid constitutional conflict. The special elections were ordered to coincide with the April 24, 2012 primary election.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania should exercise King's Bench jurisdiction over the emergency election dispute.
- Whether mandamus should issue to compel the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to issue writs of election for six vacant House seats.
- Whether Election Code Section 2778a permits the Speaker to delay issuance of writs of election for House vacancies until the decennial reapportionment process is completed.
- Whether the constitutional and statutory requirements compelled the special elections to coincide with the April 24, 2012 primary.
Holdings
- The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania granted petitioners' request that it exercise King's Bench jurisdiction over the emergency matter.
- Mandamus was proper because petitioners had a clear legal right to elected representation, the Speaker had a corresponding ministerial and nondiscretionary duty to issue writs of election, and no other adequate and appropriate remedy at law existed.
- Section 2778a must be construed narrowly, as applied to the Pennsylvania House, so that the Speaker's statutory latitude to delay issuance of writs expires once a date certain for the primary election is established.
- The special elections for the six vacant House seats had to coincide with the April 24, 2012 primary, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth was authorized to adjust the election-procedure timeline as necessary.
Key quotations
“The right at issue is the fundamental right to representation in these House districts.” (819)
“The Speaker of the House of Representatives, as its presiding officer, has a corresponding, nondiscretionary duty to issue writs of election for special elections to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives.” (819)
“Accordingly, we hold that the statutory latitude afforded the Speaker in a redistricting year expires once a date certain for the primary is established.” (821-822)
Factual background
Six seats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, in Legislative Districts 22, 134, 153, 169, 186, and 197, became vacant in January 2012. The next regularly scheduled election was the April 24, 2012 primary, and the Speaker did not issue writs of election to fill the vacancies. The Speaker relied on Election Code Section 2778a, enacted during the decennial reapportionment process, as authorizing delay until a final reapportionment plan took effect.
Procedural history
The Supreme Court granted King's Bench jurisdiction over the emergency matter. It granted mandamus in part, ordered the Speaker to issue writs of election for six vacant House seats, authorized the Secretary of the Commonwealth to adjust election procedures as necessary, denied the Secretary's request for dismissal, and relinquished jurisdiction.