Jul 6, 2024 By Brad Hundt 3 min read

Washington County’s elections board voted Friday to hire a Pittsburgh attorney to represent it in a lawsuit filed by seven county residents who say the county’s refusal to let them correct mistakes on their mail-in ballots disenfranchised them.

By a 2-to-1 vote, the board approved hiring David J. Berardinelli of the law firm DeForest, Koscelnik and Berardinelli to handle the lawsuit. The elections board consists of the three county commissioners, and Republicans Nick Sherman and Electra Janis supported hiring Berardinelli, while Democrat Larry Maggi voted against it.

Before the vote, Maggi suggested that rather than hire an attorney to handle the case, the board rescind its April decision to not allow ballot “curing,” which lets voters fix technical mistakes on mail-in ballots, such as missing signatures or incorrect dates. Sherman, the chairman of the board, said Friday that allowing voters to fix ballots would violate state law.

“I’m not going to vote to break the law,” Sherman said. “If you don’t like the law, you should contact your legislator.”

Maggi countered that there is nothing within state law that specifically prohibits counties from contacting voters to let them know that their ballot is in danger of being rejected due to technical errors. All of the Pennsylvania counties that border Washington, including Allegheny County, allow ballot curing.

In a statement released after the meeting, Maggi said, “It’s ironic that after a great day of celebrating our country’s independence and freedom, that we are making it harder for people to have their votes counted.”

Maggi continued, “I do not support the hiring of the special counsel because Washington County taxpayers should not be paying for an attorney to defend this lawsuit.”

The lawsuit was filed Monday in the Washington County Court of Common Pleas by the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia-based Dechert law firm, and the Public Interest Law Center. The suit was filed on behalf of the residents who say their votes were not counted in the April primary election because of errors on their ballots. Other plaintiffs include the Center for Coalfield Justice and the Washington branch of the NAACP.

The suit is expected to have statewide implications and perhaps make its way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court before the general election in November. Before the board’s vote Friday, Washington Mayor Jojo Burgess said the decision to not allow ballot curing was “a very political move.” He also wondered if the cost of going to court would be more than the cost of personnel in the county’s elections office calling voters to notify them of errors.

“We know that this will set a precedent,” Burgess said. “If you lose and they win, how much money are you going to lose for that?”

Gordon Lowry, a Canton Township resident, told the board, “All I see is this is being a big waste of money. The whole thing. … To me, it’s not a right or left thing, it’s a rights thing.”

A biography posted on his law firm’s website states that Berardinelli primarily works on cases involving individual and white-collar criminal defense, and litigation surrounding employment, commercial and business interests. From 2000 to 2005, Berardinelli was the assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York.

Washington County hires Pittsburgh attorney in lawsuit over ballot curing