County shouldn’t appeal ballot ruling
As we learned in the Friday, Sept. 6, edition of the Butler Eagle, a three-member Commonwealth Court panel ruled that voters whose mail-in ballots are rejected for a variety of reasons can cast a provisional ballot.
The ruling is in a lawsuit filed by two Butler County voters, Faith Genser and Frank Matis, who had their mail-in ballots rejected during the April Primary Election and then also had the provisional ballots they submitted rejected. Both Genser and Matis failed to place their mail-in ballots in the blank secrecy envelope as required.
The county Bureau of Elections notified both their mail-in ballots wouldn’t be counted.
Attorneys for the voters had argued that state law allows for a voter to cast a provisional ballot in such cases, an argument the Bureau of Elections and a Common Pleas Court judge rejected.
A higher court has sided with the voters, and while the county has several days to decide whether to file an appeal, we firmly believe they should not.
The rejection of the ballots because they weren’t properly submitted was a reasonable decision. But there is an overriding interest in making sure every eligible voter who wants to cast a ballot has the ability, and that their votes are counted.
Election security matters, but that isn’t the issue in this case. This case is about ensuing access to voting to everyone.
One of the real concerns this situation raised was there is no consistency from county to county about how to cure mail-in ballots that have some kind of error.
This decision offers a statewide standard for ballot curing, something that was sorely needed.
— JK
