Pennsylvania Northampton County Provisional Ballot Missing Signature Challenge  

Lawsuit filed by Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, David McCormick, the Republican National Committee and Republican Party of Pennsylvania against the Northampton County Election Commission challenging the commission’s decision to count provisional ballots missing signatures from voters or election officials. Under the state’s election law, a voter and certain election officials, the judge of elections and a minority inspector, must sign a provisional ballot in order for it to be counted. The plaintiffs allege that the board counted 22 ballots missing a voter’s signature and 73 ballots missing signatures from at least one election official. They argue that by counting these ballots, the board violated an election law that has been upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The secretary of the commonwealth’s office affirmed the voter signature requirement in an email to all county election officials as recently as Nov. 7, 2024. They also argue the commission’s decision to count provisional ballots with missing signatures while other county board of elections rejected them has led to the unequal treatment of voters based solely on which county they voted in, violating the U.S. and Pennsylvania Constitutions. The plaintiffs ask the court to reverse the commission’s decision to count these ballots.

STATUS: The plaintiffs filed their petition on Nov. 17, 2024. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 21.

Last updated: November 19, 2024 10:42 am EST