Pennsylvania judge vows to move quickly on dispute over mail-in votes

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The decide in a case introduced by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration in opposition to three counties that are not reporting mail-in ballots missing handwritten dates on their return envelopes instructed attorneys Friday she’s going to rule as shortly as potential.

Commonwealth Courtroom Decide Renee Cohn Jubelirer presided over an internet convention within the litigation introduced by the Division of State underneath Wolf, a Democrat, in opposition to three Republican-majority counties over about 800 mail-in ballots from the Could main.

The counties argue the ballots should not be counted due to the authorized requirement for the outside envelope dates, which aren’t used to find out if voters are eligible or if the ballots are acquired in time.

Wolf sued Berks, Fayette and Lancaster counties a month in the past, searching for a court docket order to compel them to “certify” the mail-in votes in query. Cohn Jubelirer, an elected Republican jurist, mentioned Friday she “will work very diligently” to subject an opinion.

The dispute has stalled certifications of statewide outcomes from the first within the high-profile races for Pennsylvania governor and U.S. Senate, in addition to outcomes for congressional and state legislative contests involving the three counties.

A Berks County commissioner testified final month that in his county, which invalidated probably the most ballots, including them might change down-ballot races for state social gathering.

The dispute has additionally created issues for a Republican state Home member from Fayette who has sued, searching for to withdraw from his reelection contest despite the fact that his standing as main winner has but to be licensed.

The case grew to become extra sophisticated final week, when one of many attorneys discovered a fourth elections board, in Butler County, additionally had not licensed the mail-in ballots from undated envelopes.

The Division of State’s lawyer, Michael Fischer, instructed Cohn Jubelirer on Friday that Butler’s actions had been ignored and apologized for it, saying the administration was not asking to have Butler added to any order she may subject. He mentioned there are not any different counties in the identical place.

Fisher mentioned he sought a steadiness between getting outcomes as proper as potential and “attaining finality.”

“They aren’t counting authorized votes,” he instructed the decide. “We imagine they’ve a authorized responsibility to try this and so they’ve refused to take action.”

Berks and Lancaster lawyer Jeffrey Bukowski argued the state’s place concerning Butler contradicts the state’s declare to need to implement uniformity amongst county vote-tallying practices.

“This case has extra warts than the frog who kissed the princess,” mentioned Tom King, lawyer for Fayette County. He known as the dearth of certification for U.S. Senate and governor an emergency created by the state.

The third U.S. Circuit Courtroom of Appeals dominated Could 20 that mail-in ballots with no required date on the return envelope should be allowed in a 2021 county decide race in Pennsylvania. Though the U.S. Supreme Courtroom declined to halt the Senate vote-counting after the first, three justices signed onto an opinion that mentioned the third Circuit was “very possible incorrect.”

Cohn Jubelirer, in a separate case about reporting this yr’s Senate main election outcomes, dominated in June that county boards of election ought to rely mail-in votes that lack the safety envelopes’ hand-written dates, and report vote totals with and with out these ballots.

A 2019 legislation enormously expanded mail-in voting, and since then Pennsylvania Democrats have voted by mail in far higher numbers than Republicans.