In a Court Order filed by Pennsylvania's Secretary of the Commonwealth, Kathy Boockvar, on October 14th, the State's Highest Court said it would take up the Question of whether Ballots can be Rejected due to Signature Verification, in which Election Officials can Review whether the Signature on the Ballot Matches that of the Person's Voter Registration Record.
Pennsylvania's Supreme Court issued a Unanimous Ruling, on Friday Oct. 23rd, that Prohibits Counties from Rejecting Mail-in-Ballots, in which the Voter's Signature doesn't Match their Voter Registration.
According to Court Documents, Boockvar Warned that the Process, which has No Standards or Guidelines under the State's Election Code, "would constitute a denial of equal protection to voters" whose Signatures were Challenged and Rejected.
The Secretary also noted that it would Present an "unjustified risk of disenfranchisement, given that a voter's ballot could be rejected without any opportunity to be heard on the issue."
"[We] hold that county boards of elections are prohibited from rejecting absentee or mail-in ballots based on signature comparison conducted by county election officials or employees, or as the result of third-party challenges based on signature analysis and comparisons," the Court Ruled.
"Huge victory for free and fair elections in Pennsylvania!" tweeted Boockvar following the Announcement.
Boockvar issued Written Guidance to All Pennsylvania Counties on September 11th stating that it is the County Board of Election's Responsibility to Approve All Ballots during Pre-Canvassing and aren't aAthorized to set aside Ballots based on the Analysis of a Voter's Signature.
Trump's Re-Election Campaign Contested Boockvar's Guidance in a Federal Court Case, declaring that the Guidance is Unconstitutional. The Case was Dismissed by a Judge earlier this month. Republican Lawmakers continued to Challenge Boockvar's Views and Questioned whether it was Legal to "rewrite the laws" while "clear and unambiguously crafted procedures for determining and challenging the validity" exist, according to Court Filings.
States should give Voters the Opportunity to Change their Signature on File when they get Older or due to a Medical Condition.
On Monday Oct. 19th, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court ruled that the State can Count Absentee Ballots as late as, Friday Oct. 6th, as long as they are Postmarked by November 3rd.
The ruling comes as Pennsylvania, one of the most-watched Battleground States of the Election, sees a Surge in Vote-by-Mail Ballots, which can now be Requested without a Valid Reason for the First Time, and an Uptick in concerns over Thousands of these Ballots potentially Not being Counted over Technicalities.
In the past few months, the sSate has Grappled with a Variety of Issues, including: Not Counting Ballots that did Not have a Secrecy Envelope; Rejecting Absentee Ballot Requests without a Clear Explanation; and Investigating mistakenly Discarded Military Ballots.
According to Allegheny County Election Officials, more than 28,000 Voters Received Incorrect Mail-in-Ballots due to a Printing Issue. The Affected voters are Expected to Receive Corrected Ballots starting Next Week.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment