Washington Co. commissioners refuse to reverse course on ballot-curing decision
100 people pack meeting, with many raising concerns about the issue
Washington County officials are refusing to reverse course on their decision to not allow people to cure mail-in ballots with fatal errors, despite pleas from nearly 30 people who spoke at Thursday night’s commissioners’ meeting asking them to reconsider.
About 100 people attended the marathon regular meeting that mostly centered around ballot curing during public comment, with 27 people speaking in favor of it and eight others saying they agreed with the board’s decision not to contact voters who failed to sign or date the envelopes of their mail-in ballots, meaning they won’t be counted.
After listening to more than 90 minutes of public comment, Democratic Commissioner Larry Maggi asked his Republican colleagues on the board, Chairman Nick Sherman and Commissioner Electra Janis, to reconsider. Sherman and Janis voted to not allow ballot curing ahead of the primary during the elections board’s April 11 meeting, while Maggi wanted to allow people to fix minor errors on their ballots so their votes would be tabulated.
“My vote would not change,” Sherman told Maggi.
Maggi then put a motion on the floor to hold an emergency meeting for the elections board, which the three commissioners serve on, in order to reverse the original decision. However, Sherman and Janis stayed silent, illustrating they did not intend to allow ballot curing in the days leading up to the April 23 primary.
“Dies for a lack of a second,” Sherman said of the motion.
That prompted the many from the public to clear the room in a matter of moments despite the meeting continuing for a few more minutes as the commissioners finished other business. The vast majority of people who spoke during public comment were in favor of ballot curing and questioned both Sherman and Janis directly on why they decided to deny that option when neighboring Republican-controlled counties in Greene and Fayette allow it.
As of Thursday, 170 ballots had defects such as missing signatures or dates that would not allow them to be counted, and elections officials predict that number will climb even higher by Tuesday’s primary.
“Is the omission of a letter or a number or a complete signature on the outside envelope enough to invalidate what is inside? The ballot and the will of the voter,” Marie Ferguson said. “Since constituents on both sides – all sides of the political spectrum – can be affected in a negative way, why can’t the procedure be completed by the elections office of Washington County, as has been the practice? Enough of the political repression.”
Chris Todd noted the long history of voting rights being improved in the country, and how the addition of no-excuse voting in Pennsylvania in 2019 joined more than 30 other states that allow it.
“This was a good and appropriate measure that provides the opportunity for increased participation in our democratic process by the electorate,” Todd said. “It should be easy for everyone to vote.”
Andrew Goudy of the Washington NAACP said there are a variety of reasons why people use mail-in ballots, including the elderly who may not be able to easily get to the polls.
“Our position is pretty simple. I think everybody should have the right to vote,” Goudy said. “If they make a mistake, why take their vote away from them?”
Jennifer Phillips said the decision to not allow ballot curing is “deeply troubling” and could disproportionately affect people with disabilities or the elderly who vote by mail. She noted that access to polling places to vote is often difficult for people like her since she uses a motorized wheelchair.
“By refusing to allow the curing of mail-in ballots, you are essentially creating a scenario where individuals may unknowingly have their voices silenced,” Phillips said.
Annie Shaner alluded to the commissioners meetings in 2021 and 2022 that were packed with people demanding a full audit of the 2020 presidential election. Shaner said she was concerned that the “PA Audit the Vote” group that pushed voter fraud claims back then is now influencing the current board of commissioners.
“Well, here we go again. I attended meetings for two-and-a-half years defending our voting system and election process. Now with the new chair of commissioners in charge, it looks like we’ll have another go-around,” she said, alluding to Sherman’s elevation to lead the board.
Others applauded Sherman and Janis for not allowing the practice of ballot curing.
“The law, as it is written, requires a signature and a date on the return envelope of the mail-in ballot. That’s it. Nothing could be more simple than that. You sign your name, you add the date,” Steve Renz said. “If everyone does that, not one single vote would be canceled. Not one. If you follow the instructions, it’ll count.”
Dave Ball, who is the former chair of the Washington County Republican Party, echoed that and cited Act 77 of 2019 that allowed no-excuse mail-in voting, which requires a voter to sign and date the ballot in order for it to count.
“This wasn’t something the commissioners just made up. Our legislators wrote into the law … only the legislators can change it, not the commissioners,” Ball said. “Failure to comply renders a ballot invalid under Pennsylvania law, and voters rights have not been violated. Either do it the right way – the courts have upheld that – or your ballot’s invalid.”
However, there is nothing in Act 77 or the state’s Elections Code that restricts counties from contacting voters who failed to sign or date the envelope, and a recent ruling by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals that ballots must be dated in order to be counted did not address ballot curing as part of the decision.
Both county party committee chairs – Christina Proctor for the Democrats and Sean Logue for the Republicans – attended the meeting and also spoke, with their comments being split on a voting process that was passed with bipartisan support in the state Legislature, but now has become a deeply partisan issue.
Despite not changing his mind on ballot curing, Sherman praised the number of people who attended Thursday and said the reason they wanted to hold three evening meetings this year was to allow the public to participate.
“It is awesome to see how many people are here,” Sherman said. “This is truly democracy at its best. You asked and we delivered.”
Also during the meeting, the commissioners voted 2-1 to terminate the $22.45 million contract with MRA Inc. to upgrade the countywide emergency radio system. Sherman and Janis voted in favor while Maggi voted against it. The county will wait 30 days before putting the project out for bid again.