Washington County, Pennsylvania Must Notify Voters About Defective Mail-in Ballots and Allow For Provisional Voting, Judge Rules
Washington County, Pennsylvania’s board of elections must inform voters of errors on their mail-in ballots and allow them an opportunity to cast provisional ballots at the polls in the upcoming November election, a judge ruled on Friday.
The ruling comes as a part of a lawsuit filed in July alleging that a new county board of elections’ policy effectively concealed errors on mail-in envelopes from voters, thereby denying them a chance to fix disqualifying mistakes and have their ballots counted.
According to the lawsuit, the board’s policy disenfranchised 259 otherwise eligible voters who cast mail-in ballots during the county’s April 2024 primary elections — amounting to the disqualification of 2% of all timely-received mail-in ballots.
The plaintiffs — including the Center for Coalfield Justice, the Washington Branch NAACP and several voters — sought to require the county board to notify voters of disqualifying mail-in ballot defects so they can have an opportunity to cast a provisional ballot at their polling place. Disqualifying defects include technical errors like a missing signature or incorrect date.
A prior 2023 policy utilized by the county, which was replaced by the new procedures challenged in the lawsuit, entailed notifying voters about mail-in ballot mistakes and permitting voters to cure their ballots by casting a replacement mail-in ballot or voting provisionally.
In Friday’s ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, Judge Brandon P. Neuman concluded that the county board’s lack of notice to voters regarding mail-in ballot errors violates their due process rights and lawful right to challenge alleged ballot defects before a canvassing board.
Accordingly, the ruling made clear that county election officials must enter proper data into a statewide database — known as the SURE system — to ensure voters are notified about mail-in ballot mistakes and informed about the the status of their ballots.
Neuman also granted the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction allowing voters whose defective mail-in ballots were segregated from the vote total to cast a provisional ballot at the polls on Election Day.
As the ruling states, “the Washington County Board of Elections shall indicate…a person whose mail-in packet is being segregated as a person who has not voted, allowing the individual to submit a provisional ballot at the polls.”
The Republican National Committee and state GOP intervened on the side of the board of elections and argued that state law prevents provisional ballots from being counted even if a voter’s mail-in ballot is deficient.
In light of conflicting facts surrounding the provisional ballot issue, Neuman’s ruling noted that further litigation is necessary, but nevertheless ordered the county to permit voters to cast provisional ballots so as to avoid disenfranchisement this November.
It is not yet clear whether the county board of elections or the Republican intervenors will appeal Friday’s decision.
In a press release, Sarah Martik, executive director of the Center for Coalfield Justice, said the “ruling marks a significant step in safeguarding the voting rights of Washington County residents.”
Martik added that “[i]t should be a no-brainer that voters are notified if they make a mistake on their mail-in ballot packet and have the option to cast a provisional ballot. This decision helps to ensure that every voter understands their rights and has the opportunity to correct any errors.”
Learn more about the case here.
This story was corrected on Aug. 26, 2024, at 1:33 p.m. EDT to reflect the fact that the plaintiffs did not seek to reinstate the county’s prior 2023 policy. Rather, they sought to ensure voters will be notified about mail-in ballot errors so they can have the opportunity to vote provisionally at the polls in future elections.