Washington County Board of Elections to notify voters of any errors on mail-in ballots, judge rules

WASHINGTON — Washington County Board of Elections workers will notify voters if their mail-in ballot has an error. The Pennsylvania judges’ decision came down on Tuesday, upholding the earlier decision by a county judge.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania sued Washington County’s election board on behalf of seven voters whose ballots did not count in the primary election. According to the lawsuit, 259 mail-in ballots in the county were disqualified because of filing mistakes, which the higher court ruled to be unconstitutional. The decision will allow for any voters whose ballots have an error to be able to vote provisionally.

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“I’m happy. I think the court make a commonsense decision,” said Democrat Commissioner Larry Maggi. Maggi explained that before the primary election, voters were notified via email if they made a mistake. In April, county elections board members voted to change that, leading to the lawsuit.

“If someone makes a mistake on that envelope, they put the wrong date or forget to sign it, their vote shouldn’t be thrown out without them knowing. They ought to have the ability to correct that and vote with a provisional ballot,” said Maggi.

Republican Commissioners Nick Sherman and Electra Janis tell Channel 11 this isn’t over, and they’re waiting to hear from the PA Supreme Court before they comment. Commissioners and election workers will meet next week to discuss how they’ll notify voters moving forward.

“The current policy emasculates the Election Code’s guarantees by depriving voters…the opportunity to contest their disqualification or to avail themselves of the statutory failsafe of casting a provisional ballot,” said Judge Michael Wojcik.

“We’re grateful that the court saw the important constitutional principle that government agencies cannot withdraw or cancel fundamental rights, especially something as important as voting, without telling people beforehand and sided with the voters,” said Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania.

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