Pa. Supreme Court: County Board Violated Voters’ Rights

The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that Washington County’s elections board must notify voters when their mail-in ballots contain errors and give them a chance to cast provisional votes, according to the Tribune-Review. The decision affirms a ruling by the state Commonwealth Court in September 2024. “We have no hesitation in concluding the right to vote constitutes a legitimate, protected liberty interest,” wrote Justice Kevin M. Dougherty for the four-person majority. The court found the board “’interfered,’” with voters’ liberty interests when it changed the process for notifying voters of mail-in ballot errors in April 2024. Prior to that date, Washington County voters were alerted to errors on their mail-in ballots and had the chance to fix them. But a vote by the board of elections on April 11 changed how defective ballots were entered into Pennsylvania’s registry.