A group of five Pennsylvania congressmen has filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking to compel the state to verify the eligibility of voters casting ballots from outside the United States.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, names the Pennsylvania Department of State, Secretary of State Al Schmidt, and Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions Jonathan Marks as defendants. The plaintiffs, Republican Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, Lloyd Smucker, and Mike Kelly, argue that the state’s current policy on verifying the identities of overseas voters is in conflict with federal law.
Under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), U.S. citizens living abroad can register to vote and receive a ballot electronically. However, a directive from the Pennsylvania Department of State instructs counties not to reject voter registrations from UOCAVA applicants even if the information provided does not match state records.
The congressmen claim that this policy creates a vulnerability in the election process, allowing fake or ineligible voters to cast ballots. They argue that the state’s failure to verify voter data is a violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which requires states to meet minimum requirements for voter registration applicants before granting UOCAVA voting privileges.
The lawsuit cites a report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which found that in 2020, Pennsylvania received approximately 27,000 UOCAVA ballots, with 20,000 of those coming from non-military applicants. This year, more than 25,000 UOCAVA ballots have already been transmitted to potentially unverified applicants.
The congressmen are seeking a court order requiring the state to direct counties to verify the identities of UOCAVA voters before counting their ballots. They also want the court to order counties to segregate 2024 UOCAVA ballots until the voters’ identities can be verified, arguing that the current system could lead to an inaccurate vote tally and harm their chances in the 2024 election.
