Pennsylvania rejects government by decree

 Red States:

The results are in from last night’s referendum on Gov. Tom Wolf’s tyrannical COVID orders. In both cases on the ballot the votes to limit the power of future “emergency orders” passed, putting a constitutional barrier between petty Democrats who seek to weaponize “the science” instead of doing what’s legal and logical.
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In the end, even rabidly left-wing Philadelphia punched above their weight in voting to curtail Wolf’s future powers. Of course, it’s still scary that over 47% of residents in Pennsylvania actually like being ruled by decree, but it is what it is. You can expect most Democrats to keep toeing the line until their lives are good and truly wrecked.

But given the partisan makeup of the state, there had to have been some sizable portion of Democrats and Independents who pushed these measures across the finish line. That’s a really good sign for Republicans going into 2022. In fact, Republicans overperformed in several races and this time it can’t be blamed on low turnout; for an off-year election, turnout was historic levels.
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I guess that whole “there’s going to be a backlash against Republican ideals because of Liz Cheney’s ouster” line lasted all of five minutes. The GOP continues to make strong showings in contests since they over-performed in the House in 2020.

As an aside, you’ll be less than shocked to learn that the vote-counting machines in Philadelphia, where Democrats enjoy a seven to one advantage, broke last night, leading to yet another delayed result. The results won’t change based on anything coming from that area at this point, but it shows the continued incompetence that has so tarnished our voting process. You’d think states with issues would have moved to ensure they are fixed by now, but when they do, they get accused of being racist such as in Georgia.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer reported:

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Unofficial results show 54% of voters backed amending the state constitution to allow a simple majority of lawmakers to terminate a disaster declaration at any time. Currently, such a declaration can only be ended with the governor’s consent or with support from two-thirds of the General Assembly.

Roughly the same percentage of voters approved a proposal that limits a disaster declaration to 21 days, instead of 90, and transfers power to extend an emergency order from the governor to the legislature. The Associated Press projected Wednesday morning that voters had approved both measures, with 73% of the total estimated votes counted.
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The arguments for lockdowns were a big loser in this election.   It also does not look good for Democrats at this point.