Washington County’s elections board holding special meeting Thursday
Elections officials expected to address appeal over ballot-curing lawsuit
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Washington County’s elections board is holding a special meeting Thursday in which its members are expected to address the county’s role in an appeal to state Commonwealth Court following a judge’s recent ruling in the ballot-curing lawsuit.
The board, which includes county Commissioners Nick Sherman, Electra Janis and Larry Maggi, is scheduled to meet at noon in the public meeting area’s conference room on the ground floor of the Crossroads Center building at 95 W. Beau St. in Washington.
The agenda had not been released as of press time Monday – it does not need to be made public until 24 hours before the meeting – although election officials are expected to discuss the lawsuit appeal spearheaded last week by the Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania Republican Party, which named the county in its court filings.
Notice of appeal was filed Thursday by RNC legal counsel Kathleen Gallagher asking the Commonwealth Court to review Washington County Judge Brandon Neuman’s order on Aug. 23 requiring the county’s elections board to notify voters who make mistakes on their mail-in ballot envelopes and allow them to vote with a provisional ballot.
The ACLU of Pennsylvania filed the lawsuit July 1 against the elections board on behalf of seven Washington County voters who alleged they were disenfranchised because county election officials never notified them ahead of the April 23 primary that their mail-in ballots contained fatal flaws. Mail-in ballot envelopes that are misdated, not signed or not dated by the voter are not counted, but many neighboring counties offer “ballot curing” options to let people fix such mistakes. While Neuman’s ruling did not give specific instruction on ballot curing options, it required the county to offer people a chance to vote provisionally at their polling place on election day.
David Berardinelli, the Pittsburgh-based attorney hired by the elections board to serve as special counsel defending the county in the lawsuit, is named on the RNC’s appeal, although it’s not clear who authorized him to participate in the process.
Online court records show the attorneys appealing Neuman’s ruling had until 4 p.m. Tuesday to submit briefs on the “merits of the appeal.” The ACLU and Philadelphia-based Public Interest Law Center, which is also representing the seven voters in the lawsuit, along with the Center for Coalfield Justice and NAACP in Washington, have until 4 p.m. today to file their responses.
It’s not known when the state Commonwealth Court will decide on the matter or if Washington County’s inclusion in the appeal could complicate it since county elections officials were served notice of Neuman’s ruling on Aug. 23, meaning the 10-day window to file had expired by last Thursday. The RNC and state GOP were still within the timeframe to appeal since Neuman’s order wasn’t mailed to them until Aug. 27.