A good move by Gov. Corbett. The court currently has six members and is prone to tie votes. In fact, if the court had all seven voting members, the Voter ID bill would have been ruled constitutional.

The problem for Corbett is that the Republican-controlled Senate, which needs to confirm the nomination by a two-thirds margin, is divided 27-23 so that means the governor will need some Democrats to vote yes on the nomination.

The interim justice would serve until a full-time justice is elected in 2015.

So what would I do if I was the governor? I'd nominate a seasoned member of the Senate who is a lawyer. (John Rafferty?)  It would be harder for Dems to oppose someone in their own chamber ... and it would hold out a political bone to Dems of possibly adding another Democrat to the Senate in 2014.

Corbett to nominate interim justice - News - Citizens' Voice