Tag: ballot curing

Pennsylvania Court Dismisses GOP Lawsuit Against Ballot ‘Curing’ Policies

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court on Thursday dismissed a Republican Party lawsuit seeking to prevent counties from “curing” mail-in ballots that contain mistakes. 

The GOP national and state committees who sued insisted state law does not outline procedures for local election boards to inform absentee voters they made mistakes filling out their vote envelopes or to let those voters fix their errors. In recent elections, various counties did so anyway, prompting Republicans to object that the rules aren’t being followed in certain jurisdictions across the commonwealth.

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GOP Learning to Love Mail-In Ballots, Curing, Legal Harvesting as It Seeks to Level Playing Field

Just the News

In a 180-degree turn, Republicans are adopting the Democratic strategy for winning elections in states where mail-in voting, ballot curing and ballot harvesting are legal.

Republicans have repeatedly sounded the alarm over universal mail-in voting, ballot curing, and ballot harvesting because of the heightened possibility for fraud, but as Democrats have used these methods to help their candidates win elections, the GOP is belatedly accepting that they must play the same game.

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Kari Lake Edges Katie Hobbs in Latest Maricopa County Election Results, But Not by Enough

Neil Jones

The Monday night election results reporting by Maricopa County showed a strong 56.8 percent to 43.2 percent advantage to Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake, but it was not enough to pull her ahead of Democrat Katie Hobbs in the overall, statewide vote count.

Although there is still an estimated 5,000 to 15,000 outstanding ballots to Maricopa County, election watchers at Associated Press, CNN, and Decision Desk HQ called the hotly contested gubernatorial race for Democrat Katie Hobbs.

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Democratic Judge Questions Differing Ballot-Curing Rules Across Pennsylvania

Bradley Vasoli

As political-party attorneys and the state of Pennsylvania argued over “curing” election ballots on Thursday, the Democratic judge hearing the case suggested that differing county rules could undermine confidence in election integrity.

Judge Ellen Ceisler, one of two Democrats on the seven-member Commonwealth Court, conducted the hearing in which Republican Party lawyers pressed their case against Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman (D). Per litigation filed three weeks ago, the plaintiffs contended that the court should not permit the secretary to let counties notify absentee or mail-in voters that their ballots contain mistakes that can supposedly be corrected or “cured.” 

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Wisconsin Elections Commission Won’t End Absentee Ballot Guidance, Lawmakers Furious

The Center Square

The disagreement over Wisconsin’s law on absentee ballots could be headed for court.

Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, on Thursday directed his staff to look at any and all options after the Wisconsin Elections Commission said it will not abide by the legislature’s decision to stop telling local election clerks they can fill in missing information on absentee ballots, a practice also called “curing.”

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Pennsylvania Democratic Lawmaker Would Permit Voters to Fix Signatures on Mail-In Ballots

Bradley Vasoli

A Pennsylvania legislator is in the process of introducing a package of election-reform bills, one of which would let voters adjust their signatures on their mail-in ballots when election officials identify problems with those signatures.

State Rep. Regina G. Young (D-Philadelphia) reasoned that it is common for an individual’s signature to vary over the years. County boards of elections nonetheless presently have the prerogative to void a mail-in ballot if the signature on that ballot fails to match the signature the county has on file for the voter.

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Pennsylvania House Democrat’s Proposed Changes to Election Law Would Allow Ballot ‘Curing’

Bradley Vasoli

Amidst Pennsylvania Republicans’ efforts to make elections more secure, a Democrat in the state House of Representatives has proposed his own very different voting reforms.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Scott Conklin (D-State College), would explicitly authorize “curing” of mail-in and absentee ballots on which there are errors or omissions. County election-board staffers who observe that a mail-in ballot’s declaration either lacks the voter’s signature or the date or exhibits some other error would be instructed to notify the voter and allow him or her to make a correction before polls close on 8 p.m. on Election Day.

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