The LuLac Edition #4,040, March 27th, 2019

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY 

Our "Write On Wednesday" logo.  

This week's "Write On Wednesday" takes a look at how Pennsylvanians vote. There are challenges in this state and a recent article in the Citizens' Voice outlines them.

CHANGE THE ARCHAIC STATE ELECTION LAW

More than 9,000 Pennsylvania voters in the 2018 midterm election were disenfranchised because of an archaic state law that easily can and should be changed.
The Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees elections, has reported that county elections officials rejected 9,741 absentee ballots in November, nearly 5 percent of the 205,509 ballots submitted. The vast majority were rejected because they were delivered to local election offices after the deadline.
Part of the problem is that the U.S. Postal Service isn’t what it used to be, especially regarding local delivery. There are far fewer processing centers, so local mail often is shipped to be processed in other counties rather than close to home. The problem has become so severe that some would-be voters who ordered absentees in 2018 did not even receive them until after the deadline for their return.
But the mail isn’t the biggest problem. Under a law passed in 1937, Pennsylvania has the earliest deadline of any state for returning absentee ballots — the Friday before the election. Every other state, except Mississippi, uses Election Day as the deadline, which makes better sense.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state in November, providing compelling evidence that local election offices often deliver requested absentee ballots to voters too late to ensure their return on time. That, it argues, unconstitutionally disenfranchises voters.
Civil rights violations shouldn’t be necessary to bring the state Election Code into the 21st century. The Legislature should change, to Election Day, the deadline for returning absentee ballots, and require local election offices to mail them on the day that they are requested.
More than 9,000 Pennsylvania voters in the 2018 midterm election were disenfranchised because of an archaic state law that easily can and should be changed.
The Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees elections, has reported that county elections officials rejected 9,741 absentee ballots in November, nearly 5 percent of the 205,509 ballots submitted. The vast majority were rejected because they were delivered to local election offices after the deadline.
Part of the problem is that the U.S. Postal Service isn’t what it used to be, especially regarding local delivery. There are far fewer processing centers, so local mail often is shipped to be processed in other counties rather than close to home. The problem has become so severe that some would-be voters who ordered absentees in 2018 did not even receive them until after the deadline for their return.
But the mail isn’t the biggest problem. Under a law passed in 1937, Pennsylvania has the earliest deadline of any state for returning absentee ballots — the Friday before the election. Every other state, except Mississippi, uses Election Day as the deadline, which makes better sense.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state in November, providing compelling evidence that local election offices often deliver requested absentee ballots to voters too late to ensure their return on time. That, it argues, unconstitutionally disenfranchises voters.
Civil rights violations shouldn’t be necessary to bring the state Election Code into the 21st century. The Legislature should change, to Election Day, the deadline for returning absentee ballots, and require local election offices to mail them on the day that they are requested.