Now that Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed the Republican-backed election overhaul bill that would, among other things, tighten election deadlines and expand voter ID regulation, frustrated county officials are pondering their next move.

The veto, with slim prospects at a legislative override, was expected. “I made it clear I wouldn’t sign a bill that creates barriers to voting,” said Wolf, a Democrat.

This is one of a raft of new laws passed or proposed by Republican-controlled state legislatures nationwide seeking to restrict voting access, largely motivated by former President Donald Trump’s bogus claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election that “stole” the election from him.

The GOP-backed bill contains several provisions that both Republicans and Democrats can embrace. Two that I favor are the pre-Election Day canvassing and voter ID. These are the ones that probably have the best chance of passage in a “clean” bill with just these items.

In the partisan-poisoned atmosphere in Harrisburg, don’t expect this type of compromise, because Republicans are on a mission to pass the entire package. The GOP also has a new strategy to circumvent the gubernatorial veto: Take these partisan issues to the voters in referendums to amend the state Constitution.

With data on its side, the GOP knows that very few ballot questions fail. The most recent example was this past May when voters agreed to the provisions of two GOP-backed constitutional amendments to strip the governor of some of his emergency declaration powers.

Pennsylvania Democrats and Republicans were all in on changes to voting regulations in 2019, including allowing anyone to vote by mail-in ballot.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when mail-in balloting became extremely popular and was seen as one of the key factors in Trump’s Pennsylvania defeat by about 80,000 votes.

Despite Trump’s bogus claims of a fixed election in Pennsylvania, no county election board, prosecutor or state official has raised a concern over any sort of widespread election fraud.

Trump’s efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory have been rejected by courts at all levels, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and by judges appointed by the former president. Bill Barr, Trump’s attorney general, also concluded that there was no widespread fraud that would have changed the results.

The nearly 150-page Voting Rights Protection Act contains new restrictions and changes to voter ID, signature match verification, deadlines, mail-in ballot procedures and restrictions on ballot drop boxes. It also would have added new early voting rules and allowed mail-in ballots to be processed and counted before Election Day - a measure requested by election officials.

It’s no secret that Pennsylvania counties are frustrated by restrictions that are slowing down the process to get election results in a timely manner.

Before the 2020 election, it was common for most unofficial results to be available the same night or early the next morning. Since then, in some cases it has taken several days to come up with results.

Carbon County Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein had urged the General Assembly to approve a bill that would allow pre-Election Day canvassing and extend mail-in ballot application deadlines.

“Counties’ experiences have clearly demonstrated that if we could begin the pre-canvassing process up to three weeks in advance, we would be able to use our resources more effectively and efficiently to administer both the mail-in and in-person election,” said Sherene Hess, CCAP Elections Reform Committee chair and Indiana County commissioner. “We would know of any issues with mail-in ballots before Election Day, could focus our attention on running a successful in-person election on Election Day and be more likely to deliver timely results on election night.”

Hess also noted that Pennsylvania can better set voters up for success by moving the mail-in application deadline back. “When the current law says voters can apply up to seven days prior to an election, we are telling voters that if they follow the law, the process will work as advertised, and they can be assured their vote will be able to be counted,” Hess said. “Unfortunately, this is a promise we cannot guarantee, causing anxiety for voters who often end up coming to the polling place anyway to spoil their mail-in ballot or to vote by provisional ballot.”

The County Commissioners Association was lobbying hard for these changes. “It’s extremely important that we get the two issues passed now before the November election,” Nothstein had said in June. “We need it passed by September when we have to start mailing out absentee and mail-in ballots. We’re asking for the simple fix to remove the stress and strain off our election offices.”

Earth to Nothstein: In today’s hyperpartisan political world, nothing is a “simple fix.”

Right now, the mail-in ballot application deadline in Pennsylvania is seven days before the election; local officials are looking for 15 days.

“It is time to help counties with what they need, right here and right now, to run the smooth and successful elections that our voters expect,” said county commissioners president and Butler County Commissioner Kevin Boozel. “We have outlined two very simple solutions that would, as our counties have said, address the majority of challenges we have faced in implementing mail-in ballots, and we need the state and the General Assembly to step up to help counties, and to help our voters.”

With legislators on summer break and not scheduled to return until September, the chances of these provisions being approved in time for the November general election are slim to none.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.