Hundreds of Pennsylvania voters are challenged based on postal service's change-of-address database

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 3:42 PM EDT, October 29, 2024


HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Counties in Philadelphia’s suburbs are being asked to throw out the mail-in ballot applications of hundreds of voters in what the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania said are mass-produced and illegal challenges. The challenges question the voter’s residence based on a supposed match with a U.S. Postal Service change-of-address database.

Diane Houser, a supporter of former President Donald Trump who filed over 200 of the challenges in Chester County, said the challenges are nonpartisan and from a grassroots network targeting the ballot applications of people who moved out of state.

However, the ACLU said the challenges are illegal because voters can only be challenged on their qualifications to register to vote. Friday is the deadline for such challenges, which the ACLU said must be based on specific evidence that a certain would-be voter is not eligible to vote.

The challenges are based on a faulty premise that someone is moving out-of-state permanently because the change-of-address forms are also designed to help someone get their mail forwarded, the ACLU said. Someone in the database may be temporarily relocating for school, military service or other purposes, as opposed to permanently changing their residence, the ACLU wrote in a letter to counties.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-mail-ballot-application-voter-eligibility-9d9631c2f1474c40535b5ee05bb07099

[SupportSanity]

1. Let the (republican) games begin.

[Ramsey Barner]

2. And which Post Office official provided the database? That's a tough one.

[LiberalFighter]

3. I would think it is late to challenge.

And if it should be based on anything a change of drivers license would be more appropriate.

[DallasNE]

4. Snowbirds Come To Mind

I have a brother with a permanent address in Iowa but he winters over in central Florida. He keeps his voting address in Iowa.

Thia is a solution looking for a problem. No changes are warranted. Time for the Court to so order.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. I used to have a coworker

whose parents did that. They lived in NE Philly and every October he would pack them up in a camper and would drive them down to FL and then catch a flight home. They would return here to Philly in April, so he'd fly down and then drive them back up again.

[birdographer]

6. Is this something to worry about?

Removing Dem voters from PA sounds like a bad thing? Or is this a nothingburger republican attempt?

[4lbs]

7. Ok, hundreds. Let us say for the sake of argument (a very, very small sake) that there is some merit to them.

Umm... how many of those are registered Democrats, how many are registered Republican, how many planned to vote for Kamala Harris, how many for Dumpy the Clown, etc.


You see where I'm going with this?

[PSPS]

8. They target "certain" zipcodes/neighborhoods/surnames

[PATRICK]

9. I have worked a LOT of the PA ballot mail

For a database like this there have been relatively very very few corrections and they come in many varieties as has been noted. The vast majority of course concern people who exist as qualified voters. The database I believe is over-packed with mail-in voters from the last election without them re-applying this year? Corrections are to be returned to PA, not simply forwarded. The processing tracks and marks and photo-records EACH envelope. And that is only the USPS part of the process. Even attempting the smallest nefarious deed in any part of the process is not worth it, is a federal and state crime, and detectable, traceable, in so many ways I can only guess. You don't want the postal Inspectors on your trail much less multiple other involved agencies.

This versus the invincible stupidity and evil of the chaotic trump machine. They wouldn't even take the time for a reasonable complaint. Of the very very few ballots returned with errors such as no exterior cover envelope wouldn't those be trump voters mostly? They shouldn't get too picky about the details.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. Philly is publishing a list daily for those who need to "cure"

https://vote.phila.gov/news/2024/10/07/2024-general-election-unverifiable-identification-undeliverable-and-or-potentially-flawed-ballots/

2024 General Election: Unverifiable Identification, Undeliverable, and/or Potentially Flawed Ballots
Posted on: October 7, 2024


The Philadelphia Board of Elections has received mail-in and absentee ballots with various issues that may prevent them from being counted in the upcoming November 5, 2024 General Election. These issues include:

Unverifiable Identification: Mail ballots from voters whose identification could not be verified. Voters who have not submitted acceptable proof of ID or whose ID could not be verified should fill out the ID verification form, and submit it along with a photocopy or picture of an acceptable ID (if available) to [e-mail] or via fax to [phone] by Tuesday, November 12, 2024. Without this information, the Board cannot count your ballot.

Undeliverable or Potentially Flawed: Ballots returned by the U.S. Postal Service as “undeliverable”, or administratively determined to be potentially flawed. Flaws may include lacking a signature on the declaration envelope, lacking a written date on the declaration envelope, lacking a secrecy envelope, or having a potentially incorrect date. These ballot submissions have the possibility of NOT being counted.

https://vote.phila.gov/media/2024_General_Election_Deficiency_List.pdf

I pulled up the spreadsheet for today's list for a what the hell check and found this count -

ID not verified = 627

No date = 227

No secrecy envelope ( "naked ballot" ) = 285

No signature (on outer envelope) = 730

Potential date problem = 159

Undeliverable = 1296

The envelopes that were sent with the packet here in Philly actually had the year "2024" already pre-filled so the voter only needed to fill in the MM DD part (which would help thwart people putting birthdates in).

As to this -

The database I believe is over-packed with mail-in voters from the last election without them re-applying this year? Corrections are to be returned to PA, not simply forwarded.

If someone didn't reapply for the mail ballot, then they shouldn't have been automatically sent one. I know there are 2 options in the application - either get a mail ballot ONLY for the upcoming election -OR- get a mail ballot for ALL elections for that single year (primary, special, general). The database has the person's registered (for voting purposes) address BUT the application gives the option to SEND the ballot to a DIFFERENT address and it might be that the "different" address (say if the person is in college out of state and wants to vote from there but still has an "official" residence at their voter registered address), then that could have been an issue for "undeliverable" if that address had errors in it. I know I voted for 4 years while I was out of state in college but then that was WAY before there were any "online" applications for an absentee ballot. It was all the snail mail application.