Reaction Coming In To Ballot Curing Decision

On Friday, Washington County Common Pleas Court Judge Brandon Neuman handed down his decision on a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and the Public Interest Law Center against the Washington Count Board of Elections, that asked the court to allow voters that use mail in ballots to be allowed to be notified of deficiencies on their ballot and afford them the right to vote provisionally. Neuman granted that request and said notice must be given and provisional ballot voting must be allowed. He did not allow the practice of ballot curing that had been in place as late a 2023. Mimi McKenzie, Legal Director of the Public Interest Law Center says that they are pleased with the decision. She encouraged the Washington County Board of Elections to revert back to their practice of ballot curing, but is pleased that voters will be notified so that they can vote provisionally. She said that voting should not be a “gotcha” kind of practice. Efforts to get a response from the Washington County Special Counsel David Berardinelli have gone unanswered. It is not known at this time if the county will file an appeal. If an appeal is filed, the order to notify voters could be reversed.