Commission Chairman Addresses Ballot-Curing Lawsuit

Washington County Commission Chairman Nick Sherman on Tuesday, spoke with WJPA News regarding a lawsuit filed this week against the county’s election board for their decision to not allow ballot-curing in the spring primary election.  The suit was filed was filed on behalf of seven voters, the Center for Coalfield Justice and the Washington Branch of the NAACP.  They were represented by the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Public Interest Law Center and Dechert, LLP stating the decision made by the board of elections, that is made up of the three county commissioners, disenfranchised 259 county voters by not allowing the county elections department to contact voters who voted by mail and had correctable errors with their ballots. The decision to not allow curing is a reversal of previous protocol that allowed the department to contact voters about their mistakes and address the errors.  The suit alleges that the county violated the voters’ procedural due process rights.  Sherman,  however, maintains that the elections board followed the strict letter of the law and will continue to do so.  He says the lawsuit may actually hurt the surrounding counties that allowed ballot curing, because once the suit goes through the legal system, he’s sure state law will prevail.  Sherman added that if people want to see change in the way mail-in ballots are handled, they should contact their legislators because that would need to be done on a state level.