GOP Achieves Key Victory for Election Integrity in Pennsylvania

In a significant victory for election integrity, a Pennsylvania judge has ruled in favor of the GOP, upholding a decision by the Butler County Board of Elections that prohibits voters from curing defective mail-in ballots that lack the required inner secrecy envelopes, often referred to as “naked ballots.”

Pennsylvania law mandates that all mail-in ballots be enclosed within an inner secrecy envelope before being placed in the outer mailing envelope. This ruling came after a legal challenge was raised by voters who had submitted mail-in ballots without the necessary secrecy envelope. Their ballots were initially rejected by the board of elections, prompting the voters to submit provisional ballots on Election Day. However, the board decided not to count those provisional ballots either.

Judge S. Michael Yeager, in his ruling, emphasized the importance of adhering to established election protocols. “The actions of the Board in adopting a narrow cure policy that applies in such a way as to uphold voting deadlines and ensure secrecy in voting is maintained, but that allows electors the greatest possible chance of having their vote counted, does not violate either the Election Code or the Free and Equal clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution,” Yeager wrote. He further asserted that it is the voter’s responsibility to ensure they complete all necessary steps for their mail-in ballot to be counted.

This decision comes after a petition from the Republican National Committee and the Pennsylvania GOP, which argued that Pennsylvania law requires secrecy envelopes and that any mail-in ballot submitted without one cannot be counted. The petition also criticized the Pennsylvania Department of State for encouraging voters whose ballots were rejected due to the lack of a secrecy envelope to cure their ballots by voting provisionally in person.

“There can be no dispute that the unequivocal law of Pennsylvania is that secrecy envelopes are required, and any mail-in ballot received without a secrecy envelope cannot be counted,” the Republicans argued in their petition. They contended that the attempt to create a right to cure defective ballots where none exists should be rejected.

This ruling is a clear affirmation of the GOP’s commitment to upholding election laws and ensuring that all votes are cast and counted according to the rules. As the nation continues to grapple with the complexities of mail-in voting, this case underscores the importance of maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.

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