Category: Ballot

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Backs GOP In Mail-In Ballot Dispute

Applications to vote are available on a check-in table at a polling location where voters cast their ballots during Michigan's early voting period on October 29, 2024 in Dearborn, Michigan. Early voter turnout has been heavy in Michigan, a key battleground state with 14 electoral votes, with over 250,000 early votes being cast in just the first two days. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Applications to vote are available at the check-in table at a polling location where voters cast their ballots during Michigan’s early voting period on October 29, 2024 in Dearborn, Michigan. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Abril Elfi
4:00 PM – Saturday, November 2, 2024

SEE: https://www.oann.com/newsroom/pennsylvania-supreme-court-backs-gop-in-mail-in-ballot-dispute/; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has blocked an attempt to allow mail-in ballots without a handwritten date from being counted in the 2024 election.

Friday's decision reverses a previous Commonwealth Court ruling that had declared the requirement for a handwritten date on ballots unconstitutional. Following an appeal by the Pennsylvania GOP, the state Supreme Court’s ruling now ensures that undated mail-in ballots will not be counted in the upcoming election.

Justice Kevin Dougherty criticized the Commonwealth Court for its decision.

“‘This Court will neither impose nor countenance substantial alterations to existing laws and procedures during the pendency of an ongoing election.’ We said those carefully chosen words only weeks ago. Yet they apparently were not heard in the Commonwealth Court, the very court where the bulk of election litigation unfolds,” Dougherty wrote.

“Today’s order, which I join, rights the ship. It sends a loud message to all courts in this Commonwealth: in declaring we would not countenance substantial alterations to existing laws and procedures during the pendency of an ongoing election, we mean what we meant and meant what we say,” he continued.

Pennsylvania Republicans praised Friday’s ruling, claiming that Democrats have repeatedly attempted to undermine the requirement for a handwritten date on ballots.

State officials supporting the counting of undated ballots argue that this change would simplify the process for election workers. 

Prior to the court’s ruling, the Pennsylvania Department of State submitted a brief advocating for the change.

“The requirement that county boards set aside mail ballots with declaration-date errors — and particularly the requirement that they set aside mail ballot envelopes with ‘incorrect’ dates — imposed a significant burden on county boards. Election workers must manually review each ballot envelope to determine whether it has a ‘correct’ date,” the brief said, according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

Friday’s decision marks the second time this month that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has halted Democrat-supported attempts to remove the dating requirement.

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Ballot Drop Boxes In Oregon And Washington Set On Fire, Incendiary Devices Found

Oregon residents drop off their ballots near the Multnomah County Elections building in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by ANKUR DHOLAKIA/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
1:03 PM – Monday, October 28, 2024

SEE: https://www.oann.com/newsroom/ballot-drop-boxes-in-oregon-and-washington-set-on-fire-incendiary-devices-found/; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

A little over a week before Election Day, ballot drop boxes in Portland, Oregon, and nearby Vancouver, Washington, were set on fire early Monday morning, according to police.

Three ballot boxes were severely damaged in Portland, according to local officials, while “hundreds” may have been impacted in Vancouver.

According to the Portland Police Bureau, a sidewalk ballot box in the Central City area had an “incendiary device” inside of it. The fire had been put out by local security forces by the time officers arrived on the scene at around 3:30 a.m. local time.

“Officers determined an incendiary device was placed inside the ballot box and used to ignite the fire,” a statement from the Portland police read, noting that the bureau’s Explosive Disposal Unit removed the mechanism.

Police in Portland are continuing to investigate. The Multnomah County election office claimed that “fire suppressant inside the ballot box protected virtually all the ballots.”

“Voters should be assured that even if their ballots were in an affected box, their votes will be counted,” the statement read.

About 30 minutes after the Portland fire was reported, at 4 a.m. local time, police in Vancouver, Washington, similarly responded to a separate ballot box fire.

According to NBC News affiliate KGW, smoke and flames were observed coming from a box next to the Fisher’s Landing Transit Depot.

When Vancouver police arrived, they found a “suspicious device” close to the box and reported seeing smoke and flames. The bomb was seized by the city’s Metro Explosive Disposal Unit once the fire was extinguished.

Unlike officials in Oregon, Greg Kimsey, the auditor for Clark County, admitted that “hundreds” of ballots may have been damaged. In order to find out the status of their ballot, he advised any voters who put theirs in a box after 11 a.m. on Saturday to get in touch with the office.

Although authorities have not officially assigned a motive, and it is unknown whether the incidents in Portland and Vancouver are connected, they coincide with nationwide election officials maintaining their own vigilance in relation to the concerning trend.

Previous reports of a “suspicious device” next to a downtown ballot box also prompted the Vancouver bomb squad to respond earlier this month, according to police. They later announced that the device was “safely removed” and the vote box itself was allegedly “not compromised,” according to a press summary.

In a fiercely contested House campaign, Democrat Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Vancouver is running against Republican Joe Kent, who is backed by Donald Trump, in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.

In addition, in Phoenix, a U.S. Postal Service mailbox was set on fire last week, causing damage to an unspecified number of ballots. A suspect who admitted to arson but claimed there was no political motivation for the act, was taken into custody by police.

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Georgia MANDATED to Hand-Count ALL Ballots in Trump-Harris election | LiveNOW from FOX

The Georgia State Election Board convened on Friday to discuss and vote on nearly a dozen proposed changes to election rules ahead of the November general election. Among the most contentious proposals was a new requirement for all ballots to be hand-counted at each polling location, which the board has now approved. Supporters argue that hand-counting ballots is essential for ensuring election integrity and increasing public trust in the process. However, opponents warn that this rule could lead to significant delays in reporting election results, especially in larger counties. The concerns were echoed by election officials who fear the change will create logistical challenges at a time when election preparations are already underway. The meeting, held at the Georgia State Capitol, drew a large crowd, requiring two overflow rooms to accommodate the number of attendees. In addition to the hand-counting requirement, the board is considering other changes, including a proposal to publicly post the names of all registered voters for the Nov. 5 election. Critics, including members of the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials (GAVREO), expressed concerns about the timing of these changes, warning they could disrupt the preparation and training of poll workers. "Any last-minute changes to the rules risk undermining the public’s trust in the electoral process and placing undue pressure on those responsible for managing the polls," said GAVREO President W. Travis Doss Jr. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also voiced concern that the rule changes could cause confusion and chaos on election night, a view shared by many Democratic officials. "Activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of the legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers," Raffensperger said. During the public comment period, 30 people spoke, with the majority opposing the changes. One speaker highlighted the already tight timeline for election officials, saying, "Now is the time for election officials to train workers, perform security protocols, print ballots, and mail absentee ballots, not to learn new rules and procedures." Despite the concerns, some supporters believe that tighter election rules are crucial for maintaining free and fair elections. "Any way we can tighten up elections and ensure transparency is critical to voter confidence," said one attendee in favor of the new rules. MORE: Georgia election systems get ‘health check’ ahead of November The board has only voted on the hand-counting rule so far, with 10 more proposed changes still under consideration. Any approved changes will take effect 20 days from now, just as overseas and military ballots are being sent out and in-person early voting begins. The Cobb County Election Board has also urged the state to refrain from making rule changes so close to the election, unanimously voting earlier this week to call for a halt to any further modifications.