PA is the only state that throws away absentee ballots that are not RECEIVED 4 DAYS before election

[JPZenger]

PA. has many outdated voting regulations compared to most other states. One of the worst is the requirement that absentee ballots must be RECEIVED by the county voting office by the Friday BEFORE the election.

The votes are not even allowed to be counted in PA. until after the polls close on election day, so there is no reason for the 4 day rule.

As a result, large numbers of absentee ballots get thrown into the trash in Pa. In one county in PA in one primary election, 684 otherwise valid absentee ballots were thrown away because they were received on the Monday before election day or on election day.

http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/MP/20080721/NEWS01/307219978

As seen on the following link, almost every other state allows absentee ballots to be received by the end of the day on election day.

http://www.bazelon.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=83FqwVQSDLM%3D&tabid=543

[Kalidurga]

1. Why does PA hate the people in the military?

[JPZenger]

2. Rules are more permissive for active duty military personnel

Members of the military voting by absentee ballot in PA. must have their ballots postmarked by 5 p.m. on the day before Election Day, and must have the ballots received by the County Board of Elections by 5 p.m. seven days after Election Day.
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Also, for Presidential elections, PA. is required to count absentee ballots that are received on election day. However, only the votes for President are are counted, and the other votes are still thrown away.

[Bohunk68]

3. I would think that would be grounds for a lawsuit.

[drm604]

4. That article is from 2008.

Is it still true?

[JPZenger]

5. PA. election laws haven't been updated for many years

Yes, the problem that existed in 2008 still exists. PA. has made little effort to reform its election laws for many years. The only major change that was tried was the govt. photo ID law, which was overturned.

[JPZenger]

6. Nationwide in 2008, 2.7 million votes were not counted

http://www.themudflats.net/archives/33041

"In the 2008 election, no less than:

767,023 provisional ballots were cast and not counted;

1,451,116 ballots were “spoiled,” not counted;

488,136 absentee ballots were mailed in, but not counted.

Add it up: in the last presidential election, no less than 2,706,275 ballots were cast—and never counted. I have not included a quarter million (251,936) provisional ballots counted only in part (that is, for some offices)."

Some votes are disqualified for valid reasons - such as the person never having registered in the state, or failure to sign an absentee ballot. However, many are disqualified for weak reasons - such as casting a provisional ballot in the wrong precinct.