During Friday’s hearing, the Chester County Board of Elections unanimously decided to reject more than 200 rejections of mostly Democratic absentee ballot applications. Several voters whose absentee ballot applications were challenged, as well as voting rights advocates who urged the district to reject the complaints, testified at the hearing.
“Voters choose their leaders. “Leaders don’t choose their voters,” said Amy Widestrom, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and a member of the coalition pushing back on these challenges. “What we saw today was an argument full of misunderstanding of the law and a complete lack of evidence. We call on all Pennsylvanians to unite against these obvious voter suppression tactics.”
The challenges were brought by people suspected of working with a network of right-wing supporters who have filed similar complaints in other counties such as Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware. According to a conservative website Broad and Freedoma total of more than 800 absentee ballot requests, most of which came from registered Democrats.
Broad and Liberty, which apparently provided challengers with anonymity, explained their methodology for finding voters they believed had moved and were ineligible to vote. They said they compared U.S. Postal Service data with state voter data to find cases where voters’ addresses did not match.
However, experts have long criticized this specific methodology. Not only does Pennsylvania law not require voters to pick up their mail where they live, but many Americans move temporarily or permanently without notifying the Post Office for reasons such as work, school or military service.
One of the voters whose application was challenged showed up at the Chester County Board of Elections hearing to dismiss her objection.
“I feel obliged to oppose the baseless allegations of a ‘concerned’ citizen who does not know me,” she said. Ana Harley, wife of an lively duty soldier.
More challenges can be heard in other counties before the elections.
Bucks County spokesman Jim O’Malley said there will be an elections board hearing soon, but it has not been scheduled for Oct. 31.
Votebeat, an outlet that covers voting rights and election issues, reported that a Delaware County spokesman told them the challenger had filed 140 objections to mail-in ballot applications but balked at formally submitting them when asked to sign. statements. Votebeat also reported that a spokesman for Montgomery County said no complaints had been received as of Oct. 30.
