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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 9, 2023 03:43 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lisa M. Boscola |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Procedure for Counting In-Person Provisional Ballots, When Mail-In Ballots are Rejected Due to Defect |
| Soon, I will introduce legislation to clarify the procedure for how to count an in-person provision ballot when an elector’s mail-in ballot was rejected due to a defect. Unfortunately, an interpretation of the current law related to provisional ballots, in certain circumstances, has been used to disenfranchise otherwise eligible electors. During the 2023 Primary Election, eligible voters in Delaware County had applied for and completed their mail-in ballot. A handful of those electors had their mail-in ballots rejected due to defect. Knowing their mail-in ballots were rejected they voted in-person via provisional ballot on election day. However, due to the County’s interpretation of the current law, those in-personal provisional ballots were not counted because their rejected mail-in ballot had already been received. My bill will clarify the procedure for county election boards when an eligible elector’s mail-in ballot is rejected due to defect, establishing that their in-person provisional ballot should be counted. Additionally, I will be closely monitoring the Joint State Government Commission’s Election Law Advisory Board, who signaled their interest in addressing this discrepancy and issuing legislative recommendations. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this effort by signing on as a co-sponsor, so we may rectify this issue before the next major election. |
Introduced as SB929
Memo Updated: June 9, 2023 03:44 PM