PA Politicians Raise 'Naked' Ballot Awareness By Going Topless

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA — By now, you've probably heard about the concern over "naked ballots" in Pennsylvania.

"Naked ballots" are those mailed in without the secrecy envelope that covers the identity of the voter. Naked ballots cannot be counted, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled.

With the goal of preventing election chaos, some western Pennsylvania women have taken an eye-catching measure to raise awareness on how to vote by mail properly.

Allegheny County council members Bethany Hallam Olivia Bennett along with Democratic state House candidate Emily Kinkead posed topless in photos posted online with a message on how to ensure your mail-in ballot is counted.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Hallam tweeted. "So your favorite elected officials got naked so that you remember to make sure that your mail-in ballot is NOT submitted without its secrecy envelope!!"

Kinkead also tweeted the photos, saying "no one wants a naked politician - or a naked ballot!"

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently ruled that "naked ballots," or ballots mailed in without the second secrecy envelope over the ballot which covers the identity of the voter, cannot be counted.

There are concerns the nuance of this step will be overlooked by tens of thousands of voters.

The decision not to count naked ballots was overshadowed by another Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling, which extended the deadline to count mail-in ballots in the state by three days, to Nov. 6. Officials are hopeful this eases concerns of voters that their ballots might get lost in the shuffle on Election Day, or that the Postal Service might not deliver them in time.

While Hallam's tongue-in-cheek tweet seeks to keep all voters in the know regarding mail-in voting and was received well by many, some found it off-putting.

Despite the pushback, Hallam recruited more women to join the effort and tweeted out a second round of photos.