Where was Clovis Crane? Voting record raises questions

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, all registered voters political party and voting history are matters of public record. During my research of state senate candidate Clovis Crane, I noticed that in the last 15 years, Mr. Crane has only voted 30% of the time (9 elections of a possible 30). I also noticed that Mr. Crane recently changed his party registration to a Republican in January of 2026. 

Despite an abysmal voting record and recently changing his voter registration to a Republican, perhaps the most interesting item of note was his failure to vote in the Primary Election of May 18, 2021. Why was his failure to vote in May of 2021 so concerning? 

Because in the Primary election of May 2021, all registered voters in Pennsylvania were eligible to vote as there were several Pennsylvania Constitutional Amendment ballot questions. Two of these constitutional amendment ballot questions specifically limited the scope of Governor Tom Wolf’s Emergency Declaration Powers and were as follows:

Question 1 — Legislative Resolutions to Extend or Terminate Emergency Declarations 

Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law and increase the power of the General Assembly to unilaterally terminate or extend a disaster emergency declaration—and the powers of Commonwealth agencies to address the disaster regardless of its severity pursuant to that declaration—through passing a concurrent resolution by simple majority, thereby removing the existing check and balance of presenting a resolution to the Governor for approval or disapproval?

Question 2 — Emergency Declaration Management

Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law so that: a disaster emergency declaration will expire automatically after 21 days, regardless of the severity of the emergency, unless the General Assembly takes action to extend the disaster emergency; the Governor may not declare a new disaster emergency to respond to the dangers facing the Commonwealth unless the General Assembly passes a concurrent resolution; the General Assembly enacts new laws for disaster management?

As I reflect on those trying times, it is important to provide a brief historical context. In 2020 Governor Tom Wolf issued the following COVID-19 Executive Actions: 

• Disaster Declaration (March 6, 2020): Initiated a 90-day disaster declaration, which was renewed multiple times.
• Non-Life-Sustaining Business Closures (March 19, 2020): Ordered the closure of physical locations for all non-life-sustaining businesses.
• Stay-at-Home Order (March 23, 2020): Issued a stay-at-home order for several counties, later expanded statewide, lasting until early May.
• Mask Mandate (July 1, 2020): Ordered that masks must be worn whenever anyone left home.
• Restaurant/Gathering Restrictions (July 15, 2020): Implemented restrictions on bars and restaurants, including capacity limits and requiring meals with alcohol purchases.
• Targeted Mitigation (December 2020): Implemented temporary, stricter restrictions on indoor dining and entertainment to address COVID-19 winter surges.

In response to these executive actions issued by Governor Wolf, the Pennsylvania Legislature proposed several amendments to the Pennsylvania State Constitution and these proposed amendments were placed on the ballot for all registered voters of Pennsylvania to decide on election day, May 18, 2021. Please allow to me to repeat……ALL REGISTERED VOTERS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

As we approached election day in May of 2021, we educated and reminded voters in Lebanon County to vote YES! YES! YES! on the Pennsylvania Constitutional Amendment ballot questions.

Thankfully, Lebanon County and Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly voted to amend the Pennsylvania State Constitution! In Lebanon County, the results were overwhelming with a 68% to 32% majority in favor of amending the Pennsylvania State Constitution. In fact, voter turnout was so high that several polling locations in Lebanon County experienced a shortage of Republican ballots. 

Considering this information, I believe it is prudent for Lebanon County Republicans to ask themselves the following questions: 

• When Tom Wolf was closing our places of worship, where was Clovis Crane? 
• When Tom Wolf was shutting down our businesses, where was Clovis Crane? 

Based upon Mr. Cranes’ voting history, or lack thereof, is it not hypocritical of Clovis Crane to ask that Lebanon County Republicans vote for him as their next State Senator? 

Mr. Crane indicates he is a “Conservative Republican,” yet he failed to exercise his civic duty to end our shared tyranny at the hands of Tom Wolf. Mr. Crane and his apathy should not be rewarded with a vote from anyone in Lebanon County, let alone actual Republicans. 

I will be voting for Chris Gebhard as the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania State Senate on Tuesday, May 19 and encourage the Republican voters of Lebanon County to join me just as they did on election day in May of 2021.