ACLU Raises Concerns Over Allegheny County Mail-In Ballots

PITTSBURGH, PA — The American Civil Liberties Union is asking the Allegheny County Division of Elections to ensure voters who requested mail ballots are not disenfranchised because of printing errors on the outer envelopes used in mail ballot returns.

The ACLU also wants the elections division to ensure voters whose ballots are returned as undeliverable are given notice that their unvoted ballots have been returned.

The requests were made in a letter sent to the elections division by ACLU legal director Witold Walczack and deputy legal director Sara Rose.

The ACLU cited several instances in which voters received mail ballots missing the voter declaration on the outer envelope due to a printing error.

"We are concerned that voters who receive such mail ballots will return their ballots without realizing that the outer envelope is missing the voter declaration language and that their votes will not be counted," the letter stated.

The ACLU wants the elections division to review the outer envelopes of all received mail ballots and contact every voter whose ballot is missing the voter declaration language. The ACLU is requesting those voters should be able to spoil that ballot and be issued a new one or spoil the ballot and vote in person on Nov. 8.

The ACLU also contended that hundreds of un-voted mail-in ballots have been returned to the elections division as "undeliverable," but the elections division has not taken steps to follow-up with voters whose un-voted ballots are returned.

If the elections division is unable to perform those follow-ups, the ACLU wants the division to provide a list of all voters whose un-voted ballots were returned as undeliverable to that third parties can directly contact voters.

The elections division has not yet responded to the ACLU's requests.