Elections officials in 无毛视频榣imbo无毛视频� after dueling court rulings on undated mail-in ballots
news@greenecountymessenger.com
A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court over undated mail-in ballots from a Lehigh County judge无毛视频檚 race last year is throwing a curveball to county elections officials who are unsure whether such ballots that arrive ahead of next month无毛视频檚 midterm election should be counted.
County elections directors across Pennsylvania thought the question had been resolved over the summer when a state appellate judge ruled that mail-in ballots should be recorded even if the voter did not write the date on the outside envelope.
But the U.S. Supreme Court declared Tuesday that a 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals无毛视频� ruling in last year无毛视频檚 Lehigh County judicial race 无毛视频渕oot,无毛视频� although the outcome of that election was not changed. Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Leigh Chapman issued a statement afterward that her department无毛视频檚 guidance is for counties to still count undated ballots. In her statement, she cited an August ruling by Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer that requires undated ballots to be counted after Fayette, Berks and Lancaster counties refused to do so following the May primary.
无毛视频淚t provides no justification for counties to exclude ballots based on a minor omission, and we expect that counties will continue to comply with their obligation to count all legal votes,无毛视频� Chapman said of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
The judicial whiplash has been confusing, to the say the least, with more litigation expected to follow, meaning the issue doesn无毛视频檛 appear to be settled.
无毛视频淭he bottom line is we无毛视频檙e following this back and forth 无毛视频� but on the eighth of November we will conform to the latest Department of State guidance,无毛视频� said Greene County Commission Chairman Mike Belding, who also is a member of the county无毛视频檚 elections board.
But county elections officials are also being cautious with how they approach the issue and are planning to 无毛视频渟egregate无毛视频� undated mail-in and absentee ballots from the rest of the allotment in the event there is a court challenge before or after the Nov. 8 election.
Washington County Elections Director Melanie Ostrander said the county无毛视频檚 solicitor is reviewing the court rulings to understand what to do with the undated ballots.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e segregating everything. We无毛视频檙e segregating the ones without dates so that when we make our determination we can put them back in the population,无毛视频� Ostrander said.
无毛视频淏ins with no signatures, bins for no dates, we无毛视频檙e just keeping everything separate,无毛视频� Ostrander added, while noting that they have not received any undated ballots as of Thursday. 无毛视频淣o matter what counties decide what to do, I just feel like there will litigation, because that无毛视频檚 what happens now.无毛视频�
While Act 77 of 2019, which expanded the use of mail-in and absentee ballots, expressly states that voters 无毛视频渟hall无毛视频� sign and date the envelopes, there are numerous quirks in the state无毛视频檚 Election Code with similar mandatory requirements that would be shocking if strictly enforced today. For example, elections directors are required to send lanterns to each precinct, according to portions of the code written in 1937, while voters must close a curtain behind them when casting a ballot. No electronic voting machines used in today无毛视频檚 elections have curtains to offer privacy, and it would be preposterous to invalidate every in-person vote on Election Day.
However, there are some requirements that state courts have ruled must be followed. All ballots must be sealed in a 无毛视频渟ecrecy envelope无毛视频� before being placed in an outer envelope, which must be signed by the voter to count. If a ballot is 无毛视频渘aked无毛视频� and not in the secrecy envelope, the vote will automatically be discarded. Mail-in ballots must also either be delivered through mail or turned in personally by the voter at their county无毛视频檚 elections office no later than 8 p.m. Nov. 8.
Fayette County Commission Chairman Dave Lohr, who also leads the county无毛视频檚 elections board, said they plan to segregate undated ballots, but they无毛视频檙e unsure whether they无毛视频檒l decide to count them. Fayette County was one of three counties in Pennsylvania that withheld counting its undated ballots 无毛视频� there were only 52 of them 无毛视频� following the May primary until Cohn Jubelirer无毛视频檚 ruling forced them to do so in order for state officials to certify the election.
无毛视频淲e haven无毛视频檛 made any formal decision yet. That will go before the election board when we see what无毛视频檚 going on with the ballots themselves,无毛视频� Lohr said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 one of those things, it无毛视频檚 sitting in limbo at this point. And then we无毛视频檒l make the decision when we make it.无毛视频�
He said the elections board may have to convene a special meeting before the election, although he无毛视频檚 hopeful they will get a concrete answer, which could come in the form of new court rulings. But he added that he thinks the state legislature needs to re-examine Act 77 and fix problems with the original legislation that raised so many legal questions over the past three years.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e definitely on top of this and going to make sure we do it the right way, the legal way,无毛视频� Lohr said.
Belding said Greene County won无毛视频檛 segregate undated mail-in ballots before the election because they无毛视频檙e filed alphabetically by precinct. By then, he无毛视频檚 hopeful a final decision will be made on how the county should proceed in canvassing the votes.
无毛视频淩ight now there is a huge back and forth in court cases,无毛视频� Belding said. 无毛视频淚 just want a final decision. Just tell me what to do.无毛视频�
The last day to request a mail-in ballot is Nov. 1, while the final day to register for the midterm election is Oct. 24.