A Bucks County Republican congressman and a group of Republican state legislators say the decision by county election officials o turn away some of the people who lined up to apply for absentee ballots on Saturday was “potential disenfranchisement.”
On Sunday – two days before the deadline to request absentee ballots – lawmakers sent a letter to Bucks County commissioners asking them to reconsider the county’s policy.
“While there is no doubt that in-person, on-demand mail-in voting is a courtesy provided and administered by Bucks County Government, this incident sent shockwaves throughout our community and caused citizens to lose faith in our election system,” the lawmakers wrote. “This potential voter disenfranchisement must be remedied so that every eligible voter can vote.”
Lawmakers offered to provide “any support or assistance” necessary to expand Bucks County election office hours and publicize the change in plans. The letter was signed by U.S. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick; state senators Jarrett Coleman and Frank Farry; and state Reps. Kathleen Tomlinson, Joe Hogan, Shelby Labs, Craig Staats and Kristin Marcell.
“After four years of bipartisan urging from our Board of Commissioners, I am pleased to say that the Republican delegation of our state and federal legislatures in Bucks County has finally woken up to the need for the additional support that Commonwealth counties need for elections in the 21st century,” he said Commissioner Chairman Bob Harvie, a Democrat, said in a written statement. “We look forward to reviewing their proposals to increase funding for election infrastructure, as well as reforming Act 77 by allowing pre- canvassing up to a week before the election and fully funding any new forms of voting.”
Election officials across the commonwealth have been pushing for these changes for several years, and Democratic lawmakers have proposed amendments to state voting laws that would implement them, but Republican lawmakers have so far rejected them.
Harvie said county commissioners are waiting for further guidance from the State Department, but noted that voters have options other than waiting in line for mail-in ballots upon request. Voters can request an absentee ballot online by 5 p.m. on Tuesday and send them to their place of residence, provided that they will be able to vote at the polling station on election day.
Confusion over absentee ballots at the Bucks County elections office is leading to long lines of frustrated voters
Asked about the Department of State’s position on how county election officials should handle lines of people who want mail-in ballots upon request, department spokesman Geoff Morrow responded with a written statement saying Secretary of State Al Schmidt visited all districts to review plans for holding elections and sent an email to county officials last week to “urge them to review their plans to ensure every voter has the opportunity to receive and return a ballot.”
“Counties across the Commonwealth are struggling with higher-than-expected turnout of people requesting and returning ballots,” Morrow wrote. “Election officials are working around the clock to ensure everyone who is eligible and willing to vote has the opportunity to vote.”
Schmidt said in media briefing The state received about 2 million absentee ballot applications on Monday, and 70% of those ballots have already been returned. Election officials cannot open ballots – which is called canvassing – and start counting them until 7 a.m. on Election Day.
Harvie said the confusion over mail-in ballots arose because “political parties and organizations across the political spectrum have been misleading voters about what mail-in-demand voting is and is not.”
Schmidt says the state received 2 million absentee ballot requests before the Oct. 29 deadline
Some voters who lined up at the Bucks County Board of Elections office in Doylestown on Saturday believed they were there to vote early and that it would be like Election Day. Many of them believed that they would be able to vote if they stood in line until the office closed. They were shocked and furious when county election officials told some of them they would not be able to request absentee ballots that day.
“Demand-mailed voting is not ‘early voting,’” Harvie said.
Voters going to district election offices on Tuesday do not line up to vote; are lining up to apply for and receive absentee ballots.
When a voter applies for an absentee ballot, the county elections official checks the application against state and county records to confirm that the person is registered to vote and has not yet voted. The election official then prints a ballot for the precinct and an envelope with a barcode unique to that voter. District officials say the process takes about 12 minutes from the time a person reaches the front of the line.
A voter can complete an absentee ballot at the election office and submit it to the county election official. Voters can also take the ballot home, fill it out and place it by mail or in a secure drop box, or deliver it in person to the county elections office.
US Postal Service recommends that anyone who chooses to mail a ballot does so on Tuesday so that it can arrive at the county election office by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted.
County election officials will not accept applications for absentee ballots after 5 p.m. on Tuesday. They will advise anyone who wants to vote by request this week to go to their polling station on Election Day.
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