Pennsylvania: Rejection of Mail-In Ballots for Date Technicalities
In June 2024, the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans, represented by Fair Elections Center and LeVan Stapleton Segal Cochran LLC, filed a lawsuit against the Lancaster County Board of Elections to challenge the rejection of mail-in and absentee ballots that are missing the last two digits of the year from the handwritten date on the outer return envelope.
A month later, as part of a mandatory directive to all 67 county Boards of Elections, the Pennsylvania Department of State has instructed the full year to be pre-printed on the return envelope for mail-in and absentee ballots, instead of requiring voters to complete the last two digits of the year by hand. Having achieved what it set out to accomplish, PARA voluntarily discontinued its lawsuit.
Pennsylvania: COVID-19 Litigation
Fair Elections Center and Hogan Lovells filed a complaint in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on behalf of a voter who in June, 2020 was disenfranchised when she was forced to choose between her health and her right to have her voice heard. The lawsuit seeks options to ensure voters who haven’t received their requested ballots and who cannot vote in person due to Covid-19 risk can still receive their ballots in time to vote.
