Sep 27, 2024 By Mike Jones 5 min read

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt is hoping the state Supreme Court will soon bring uniformity to many contentious issues surrounding mail-in ballots, such as the legality of so-called “ballot-curing” or whether dates are required to be written by voters on the outer envelopes.

“Well there’s plenty of disagreements on how elections should be run, but one thing everyone agrees on is wanting greater clarity,” Schmidt said. “So when there is something in the law that is yet to be settled, or something new that arises, we really rely on the courts to make those decisions and do so expeditiously. It’s fair to voters, it’s fair to people who run elections, and everybody, when everyone knows what the rules are around election administration.”

During a wide-ranging interview Thursday at the Herald-Standard’s office in Uniontown, Schmidt addressed a variety of concerns confronting voters ahead of the Nov. 5 election, but noted many issues still must be settled surrounding Act 77 of 2019 that expanded the use of mail-in ballots.

After a flurry of legal challenges since no-excuse mail-in ballots were implemented in 2020, the state Supreme Court is now considering whether to weigh in on multiple issues that range from whether counties are permitted to allow ballot curing or if hand-written dates are required on the outer envelope in order for a mail-in vote to count.

The Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania GOP filed a petition on Sept. 18 asking the state Supreme Court to exercise “king’s bench” authority to make a final and precedent setting ruling involving mail-in ballots, specifically whether ballot curing measures are legal. The ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center in Philadelphia filed a similar petition this week asking the high court to rule that dates aren’t required. Currently, any mail-in ballot packet that doesn’t include a signature or date – or is even misdated – cannot be counted, according to state election law.

The issue has led election officials in individual counties to make their own determination on how to handle a variety of issues.

While election officials in Fayette and Greene counties will contact voters about any issues with mail-in ballots and give them options to fix such mistakes, Washington County did not during this year’s primary. That resulted in a lawsuit filed against Washington County’s elections board in which Court of Common Pleas Judge Brandon Neuman ordered county elections officials there to notify voters of such mistakes and allow them to vote with a provisional ballot at their precinct. The state Commonwealth Court on Tuesday affirmed Neuman’s order, but it was not precedent setting, meaning each county is still left to make its own decision unless the Supreme Court steps in.

“So you do have some differences county to county in terms of the steps they’re taking to make sure that voters can cast their vote and have it counted,” Schmidt said. “Should the Supreme Court make a decision that affects all of our counties, we would revise any guidance or directives that we have accordingly to make sure to reflect the court’s decision, however they decide.”

Schmidt acknowledged the legal battles have led to confusion for voters who are unsure what the rules are from election to election.

“Voters should really tune out a lot of this back and forth until things get settled,” he said. “Whether you vote in person or vote by mail, voting is not complicated … so I would hate for people to not participate because of all the back and forth in court or anywhere else.”

Schmidt was in Uniontown on Thursday visiting the Fayette County Elections Office as part of his ongoing tour across Pennsylvania to speak with local officials in every county in the state before the upcoming election.

“Elections are run well here,” Schmidt said. “I met with the whole team.”

Elections Director Mary Beth Kuznik said Schmidt spent more than an hour visiting with her and the elections staff, discussing in general their preparations for the election while they explained to him how they’re right on schedule.

“We were thrilled he was able to come, and we enjoyed having him visit us,” Kuznik said. “We’re happy and very proud of our work here. We were pleased to have him.”

Schmidt, who is a Republican and was a Philadelphia city commissioner seated on the municipal elections board during the contentious 2020 election, was elevated by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro last year to his current position leading the Department of State and serving as Pennsylvania’s top election official. As part of his new role, he has visited 51 of the 67 counties across the state thus far to “see the challenges (elections officials) face” while being keenly aware that the eyes of the nation will once again be on Pennsylvania, which could determine the race for president.

“I think everyone in Pennsylvania involved with elections understands the scrutiny and importance of our elections to make sure that Election Day goes smoothly and that votes are counted expeditiously, but with integrity,” Schmidt said before traveling to Allegheny County. “So that isn’t lost on all of us, no matter which county you’re in.”

Schmidt said he understands this election could be divisive – as they have been in recent years – but he’s hopeful there will be a robust turnout regardless of whether people decide to vote in person or by mail.

“I would hope that every eligible voter knows that their vote matters, especially in a presidential election, especially when elections are close,” he said. “They shouldn’t be dissuaded by participating despite the fact the atmosphere around elections has changed in the last several years, becoming more contentious.”