Several other counties that had initially voted not to count such ballots did follow Chapman’s guidance and included them in their final tallies. The lawsuit was filed this month after officials declined Chapman’s request they reverse decisions to throw out 507 Democratic and 138 Republican ballots in Berks, 45 Democratic and six Republican ballots in Fayette, and 46 Democratic and 38 Republican ballots in Lancaster. Lancaster County Commissioner Ray D’Agostino, a Republican, testified that he sees value in the handwritten dates because they “go to the validity and the authenticity of the ballot received” and can raise red flags that prompt further investigation. The dates are not needed to show the ballots were mailed in time - county workers separately verify that they were received by the time polls closed on election day - but are required by Pennsylvania election law for the mail-in ballots that are tallied by county election officials.
“I would not be surprised to understand that it would impact the outcome of some of those races,” said Leinbach, a Republican. Senate, but Jubelirer’s decision could clarify whether inaccurate or missing dates on those envelopes can form the basis for future vote-counting challenges.īerks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach testified that in his county, which invalidated the most ballots, counting them could change down-ballot races for state party. The votes, including some from Fayette County, are not expected to change the results of the state’s marquee primary races this year for governor and U.S. Jeff Bukowski, lawyer for Berks and Lancaster counties, called the lawsuit “a ginned up case or controversy” that was brought to enforce a policy favored by Chapman, not a complaint by an aggrieved voter or candidate.Ībortion vote returns spotlight to obscure Michigan board
The acting secretary of state, Leigh Chapman, sued the three counties after they declined to follow her guidance in response to a federal appeals court decision that handwritten dates on a mail-in ballot’s exterior envelope - required by law - are not mandatory. (AP) - A Pennsylvania judge was urged by state lawyers Thursday to order three counties to add some 800 mail-in ballots to their May primary election results, but the local election officials insisted their decisions are firmly rooted in unambiguous state law.Ī six-hour hearing in Harrisburg was the latest in a string of recent court proceedings about the rules for absentee and mail-in ballots, a running battle that pits Democrats who embraced mail-in voting under a 2019 law against Republicans who see inconsistent practices and widespread confusion about what is legal.
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