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Barletta: Widespread Counting of Undated Mail Ballots is Illegal
Former Mayor and Congressman Lou Barletta, Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, today blasted the unprecedented decision of local officials to ignore the rule of law and count undated mail ballots from the May 18th primaries. Officials in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties declared they would count such ballots despite a ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court prohibiting such actions.
Barletta issued the following statement:
“Here we have more examples of government officials deciding on their own what they want the law to be, rather than what the law actually is. We saw it in the 2020 election and we’re seeing it again today. Voting is the foundation of our democracy and we – as Americans – need to be able to trust that our electoral process works. But what these localities are doing is flat-out illegal.
“Let me be clear: local elected officials - Democrat or Republican - do not have the authority to ignore legally-binding Supreme Court decisions in order to fit their own political agenda. There must be unambiguous uniformity in Pennsylvania election standards. Philadelphia should play by the same rules as Pike County. Bucks County the same as Bedford County. We must restore faith and trust in our elections here in Pennsylvania by offering common sense solutions to address the massive problems created by Act 77 and make it easier to vote, but harder to cheat.”
Background:
In a 4-3 decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on November 23, 2020, Justice David Wecht cast the deciding vote to count undated mail ballots in 2020 election due to the state's failure to adequately inform voters how to properly fill out their mail ballot, but clearly stated in his opinion that the date and signature requirement be mandated for all future elections:
“However, under the circumstances in which the issue has arisen, I would apply my interpretation only prospectively,” the justice wrote, noting that in future elections, he would “treat the date and sign requirement as mandatory in both particulars, with the omission of either item sufficient without more to invalidate the ballot in question.” He said it may not have been clear to voters in this election.
While many of the Philadelphia City Commissioner's decisions are made unanimously, Commissioner Al Schmidt broke from his colleagues and voted to reject the undated mail ballots:
But Schmidt said the law and the high court’s ruling are clear, and he voted to reject the ballots even though he would like to count them.
“I had no choice but to vote to not count those ballots,” Schmidt said in an interview. “It’s our job to uphold the law, not to interpret it. That’s what the Supreme Court has already done.
Many of the commissioners’ decisions are made unanimously, but Schmidt has disagreed with his Democratic colleagues before, including about whether to count or reject mail ballots with various defects last year. Schmidt made clear Wednesday that he doesn’t disagree personally with Deeley and Sabir that the undated ballots should be allowed.
“I would rather not have had to vote the way that I did,” Schmidt said, “but the law is clear and the Supreme Court is clear.”
Barletta issued the following statement:
“Here we have more examples of government officials deciding on their own what they want the law to be, rather than what the law actually is. We saw it in the 2020 election and we’re seeing it again today. Voting is the foundation of our democracy and we – as Americans – need to be able to trust that our electoral process works. But what these localities are doing is flat-out illegal.
“Let me be clear: local elected officials - Democrat or Republican - do not have the authority to ignore legally-binding Supreme Court decisions in order to fit their own political agenda. There must be unambiguous uniformity in Pennsylvania election standards. Philadelphia should play by the same rules as Pike County. Bucks County the same as Bedford County. We must restore faith and trust in our elections here in Pennsylvania by offering common sense solutions to address the massive problems created by Act 77 and make it easier to vote, but harder to cheat.”
Background:
In a 4-3 decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on November 23, 2020, Justice David Wecht cast the deciding vote to count undated mail ballots in 2020 election due to the state's failure to adequately inform voters how to properly fill out their mail ballot, but clearly stated in his opinion that the date and signature requirement be mandated for all future elections:
“However, under the circumstances in which the issue has arisen, I would apply my interpretation only prospectively,” the justice wrote, noting that in future elections, he would “treat the date and sign requirement as mandatory in both particulars, with the omission of either item sufficient without more to invalidate the ballot in question.” He said it may not have been clear to voters in this election.
While many of the Philadelphia City Commissioner's decisions are made unanimously, Commissioner Al Schmidt broke from his colleagues and voted to reject the undated mail ballots:
But Schmidt said the law and the high court’s ruling are clear, and he voted to reject the ballots even though he would like to count them.
“I had no choice but to vote to not count those ballots,” Schmidt said in an interview. “It’s our job to uphold the law, not to interpret it. That’s what the Supreme Court has already done.
Many of the commissioners’ decisions are made unanimously, but Schmidt has disagreed with his Democratic colleagues before, including about whether to count or reject mail ballots with various defects last year. Schmidt made clear Wednesday that he doesn’t disagree personally with Deeley and Sabir that the undated ballots should be allowed.
“I would rather not have had to vote the way that I did,” Schmidt said, “but the law is clear and the Supreme Court is clear.”
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