Pennsylvania Republican Lawmakers Threaten To Seek Removal Of 2 Philadelphia Election Officials Over Ballot Rules

CBS Philadelphia

May 29, 2021

Republican leaders in the Pennsylvania House threatened Friday to seek removal of two Democratic elections officials in Philadelphia for counting mail-in ballots that had not been hand-dated by the voters.

GOP caucus leaders sent letters to Lisa Deeley, who chairs the city’s voting and elections board, and fellow board member Omar Sabir, arguing that state law requires the dates, even though the envelopes are postmarked. Republicans said they were looking into what occurred with similar mail-in ballots in other parts of the state.

The question of whether the hand-written dates are mandatory went before the state Supreme Court last year, during the first year of a new law that permits anyone to vote by mail. State law previously had required absentee voters to cite one of a very limited number of excuses in order to vote by mail.

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