A judge has ruled that a Republican-controlled county in Pennsylvania violated state law when election workers refused to inform voters that their mail-in ballots had been rejected and wouldn't be counted in last April's primary election.
Judge Brandon Neuman ruled that Washington County voters were deprived of their legal right to either challenge the decision of the county elections board or to cast a provisional ballot in place of the rejected mail-in ballot. Officials must inform absentee voters of any mistakes on their envelope that could invalidate their ballot.
Ballot errors, such as missing a signature or failing to list the date, were among the reasons why some mail-in ballots were rejected. (RELATED: US Troops Receive Election Reminders Following Previous Lapses)
Neuman, who was elected as a Democrat, ordered the GOP-dominated county, part of Greater Pittsburgh, to allow those affected voters to cast a provisional ballot. This order is intended to ensure that their votes are counted.
In the primary, Washington County rejected 259 mail-in ballots that were received before the polls closed, which accounted for 2% of all on-time mail-in ballots. About three-fourths of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania are typically from Democrats.
WTAE Pittsburgh's Action News 4 reports:
The Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania were interveners in the case, joining Washington County on what turned out to be the losing side of this fight in the county's Common Pleas Court.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania was among those on the winning side, representing voters whose votes weren't counted in the spring 2024 primary.
“What this judge decided was, the Pennsylvania and U.S. Constitution require that the county give notice to voters before they deprive them of a fundamental rights, such as voting,” Marian Schneider of the ACLU PA Senior Policy Counsel for Voting Rights told Pittsburgh's Action News 4. “So what Washington County was doing is, they were setting aside ballots that had obvious disqualifying errors on the envelopes, and they were putting them aside, and they were not counting them. But they were not telling voters, even if the voter called the Washington County Board of Elections to ask.”
The ACLU argued that 259 Washington County voters were needlessly disenfranchised by the policy.
There has been a noticeable shift among Republicans toward encouraging early voting, including voting by mail. The Trump campaign has shifted its stance and is now actively supporting early voting initiatives. After the 2020 election, where Democrats saw significant success with early voting and mail-in ballots, Trump's campaign and many Republican leaders have recognized the importance of not relying solely on Election Day turnout. (RELATED: Don Lemon's Trump Discovery Leaves Psaki Totally Speechless [VIDEO])
Trump has begun encouraging his supporters to vote early, including by mail, to ensure that every possible vote is counted. This reflects a broader effort to adapt to the realities of modern election dynamics and to maximize voter turnout within the Republican base.
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If the Supreme Court of each state and or SCOTUS would rule to rid our nation of absentee and early voting ballots (with the exception for those American citizens serving in the military and or abroad), then these lawsuits, challenges to the processes would no longer exist or at least be greatly diminished. It is possible it will take an Amendment to the US Constitution due to State’s Rights 10th Amendment, creating a Voter ID proof of American citizenship in order to vote in our elections.
Furthermore, it is also the responsibility of the American citizen to make sure their voter registration is up to date (this is crucial and extremely important information). I personally believe that all elections should be protected with Voter ID laws, however the anti-American Leftist party democrats will never yield to such requirements. Guess who created election months, etc.? Even though you need proof of who you and what age you are i.e. ID to purchase certain items, like alcohol, cigarettes, etc. and or to enter certain venues. It is a voter outcome blockade to allow for fraud to happen if need be, which it does happen, over and over again.
When you vote, all American citizens should have the peace of mind that their vote was not cancelled by someone committing fraud which is an “illegal and punishable” criminal act, such as Illegal Aliens and other non-citizens and or multiple times voting. Look which party supports you having peace of mind and trust in the election integrity processes and which one doesn’t. Voter integrity is the backbone of our democratic process in giving temporary authority to those to pass laws, make judgments, etc. So we could say this also greatly diminishes an authoritarian and or totalitarian outcome which our founding fathers were aware of and warned us of. Americans, let’s make America America again.