(The Center Square) – The number of Pennsylvania mail-in ballots rejected for errors decreased by 57% in the general election, according to Department of State.
Of the roughly 1.9 million votes received on Nov. 5, 1% were tossed. In the April primary, 2.4% of ballots were rejected. The most common reasons were votes received after the 8 p.m. deadline on Election Day (33%), incorrect or missing dates (23%), no signature (17%) or missing secrecy envelope (15%).
State Secretary Al Schmidt said improvements made between the two elections, including a year-long education initiative and early printing, “helped to significantly reduce the number of voters who were disenfranchised because of a mistake made when completing their mail ballot materials.”
More than 7 million ballots were cast in total on Election Day, with all eyes on Pennsylvania and its highly coveted 19 electoral votes. Ultimately, President Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris by 120,000, nearly tripling the margin that led him to victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Pennsylvania’s other national race for U.S. Senate, however, came down to less than 17,000 votes. The razor-thin margin meant that incumbent Democrat Bob Casey Jr. waited 17 days to concede to Republican Dave McCormick as drama unfolded over defective mail-in ballots.
During a Nov. 14 meeting, Bucks County Commission Chairwoman Diane Ellis-Marseglia said she knew counting roughly 400 votes without dates defied a state Supreme Court ruling, but she didn’t care.
“I think we all know that precedent by a court does not matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws anytime they want,” she said. “So for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention.”
And pay attention they did. Four days after the board’s action, the state Supreme Court reaffirmed that the ballots were defective.
The 4-3 order came after the state and national Republican Party filed for extraordinary relief over the issue, which also unfolded in Centre, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
In a concurring statement, Justice Kevin Brobson reminded local officials they lack any authority to interpret state law. Justices David Wecht and Sally Updyke Mundy agreed.
“I write separately to disabuse local elections officials of the notion that they have the authority to ignore Election Code provisions that they believe are unconstitutional,” he said. “Only the courts under our charter may declare a statute, or provision thereof, unconstitutional.”
In December, Rep. Joe D’Orsie, R-York, said he’s drafting legislation that would give the state House the power to remove county and municipal officials, like Ellis-Marseglia, from office. It would be similar to the impeachment process and would ultimately require voter approval.
