'Thousands of mail ballots not counted': PA fixing issue that disenfranchised 17K voters

Pennsylvania played a key role in deciding the last two presidential elections, and appears poised to be similarly decisive in the 2024 race. Now, the Keystone State is seeking to rectify an issue that prevented thousands of mail-in ballots from being counted in the most recent election.

According to WPSU, Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro is now working in conjunction with Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt to fix issues with Pennsylvania's mail-in ballot system that can be confusing for some voters. Currently, commonwealth law requires that for a mail-in ballot to be counted, a voter must place their ballot inside an inner "secrecy envelope," then place that envelope containing their ballot inside of an outer return envelope with their complete name, the current date and their signature.

These requirements have led counties to throw out approximately 17,000 ballots in the 2023 primary election, which accounts for roughly 3% of all Pennsylvania votes. 3% could make the difference in a close election: For context, Joe Biden won Pennsylvania by just 1.2% in 2020, and Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by less than 1% in 2016.

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Roughly 20% of mail-in ballots rejected were due to the envelopes lacking a date, and approximately 15% of mail-in ballots tossed out were due to voters failing to place their ballot in the secrecy envelope. Another 5% were rejected for lack of signature.

Now, Shapiro and the secretary of state's office are instructing counties to use a uniform set of rules when instructing voters how to complete mail-in ballots. The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports that the outer envelope will now "have a pre-filled '20' at the beginning of the year field, so that voters write the current year, not their birth year, and full-page instructions with graphics to show how to place the envelopes before mailing."

"Counties will have the discretion to use a hole punch in the return envelope to help county election workers see when the inner secrecy envelope — now with yellow coloring and a watermark — is missing – or 'naked,'" the Capital-Star reported.

“Governor Shapiro has made it clear that the Commonwealth should help people succeed, not get in their way,” Secretary of the Schmidt stated. "In each election cycle since 2020, when no-excuse mail-in voting was implemented in Pennsylvania, we have seen thousands of mail ballots not be counted because of unintended technical errors voters made when completing their ballot."

READ MORE: 'Glitch' affects touchscreen voting machines in swing Pennsylvania county: 'Peak of mistrust'