Although Ballot Access News covered Pennsylvania Senate Bill 421 late last year, B.A.N. did not previously report that the bill, which was signed into law on October 31, 2019, repealed the law requiring petitions to be notarized.

The notarization requirement had been held unconstitutional a few years ago, but it is rare for the Pennsylvania legislature to amend an election law that has been held unconstitutional. For example, the May petition deadline for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties was struck down in 1984, but the legislature has never amended the law to reflect that the actual deadline is August 1, per the court action.