Press release · September 23, 2020
Voter Protection Corps Urges Prompt Action on Naked Ballots in Pennsylvania
VPC urged the Pennsylvania Legislature to require counties to accept mail ballots returned without a secrecy envelope, so thousands of voters would not be disenfranchised.
Washington, D.C. – The Voter Protection Corps today urged the Pennsylvania Legislature to take immediate action requiring counties to accept naked ballots – ballots that are mailed in without the required secrecy envelope – to ensure thousands of voters aren’t disenfranchised in this election.
“This is the first year that Pennsylvanians have voted by mail in large numbers and the natural, non-consequential, technical errors that we know voters will make shouldn’t result in simply trashing thousands of votes,” said Voter Protection Corps Chair Quentin Palfrey . “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent ruling has the potential to result in thousands – if not more – rejected ballots in Pennsylvania, where the margin of victory was less than 1 percent in 2016. The Pennsylvania Legislature must take immediate action to honor the intent of the voter and require counties to count naked ballots.
“Even if the legislature won’t act to allow these so-called ‘naked’ ballots, it should immediately provide greater flexibility to process mail ballots as soon as each ballot is received from the voter and allow every eligible voter whose ballot might need to be rejected an opportunity to fix any problems that occur. The Commonwealth and counties must also double down on recruiting poll workers which, as our research alongside Carnegie Mellon University shows, are desperately needed throughout Pennsylvania, and provide broad, new, non-partisan voter education that helps ensure fewer voters are disenfranchised. These efforts are critical to ensuring that this election doesn’t hinge on another court decision.”
The Voter Protection Corps is continuing to take aggressive steps to educate voters on the importance of mailing in their ballots using the provided secrecy envelope, recruit poll workers and urge counties to begin processing mail ballots early and giving voters an opportunity to fix any problems . While the election season is already upon us, it is not too late to correct issues that cause legitimate voters’ ballots to be rejected. Just yesterday, the North Carolina State Board of Elections announced changes that would allow voters to fix issues with their ballots.