In Pennsylvania, a battleground state, thousands of mail-in ballots are at risk of rejection due to a last-minute campaign raising alarms among voting rights groups and straining local election officials.
Spearheaded by a few individuals, the campaign targets ballots from overseas voters and challenges the eligibility of those who, at some point, requested to forward their mail to another address.
More than a dozen counties reported receiving these challenges, according to CNN’s outreach to local and state officials.
Some election boards have already dismissed the complaints as baseless, yet the challenges come as officials work tirelessly to manage the consequential Tuesday election in a state pivotal to the White House race.
“This is going to make voters nervous and create a lot of unnecessary work for election boards,” said Ari Savitzky, a senior attorney with the ACLU.
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In several counties, the objections were submitted just minutes before the Friday deadline. Bucks County, for example, received nearly 1,200 challenges to overseas voters just before the 5 p.m. deadline, according to county spokesperson Jim O’Malley.
In Bucks County, state Sen. Jarrett Coleman filed all the challenges, said O’Malley.
Another Republican senator, Sen. Cris Dush, challenged 77 voters in Centre County, though his office declined to comment.
Pennsylvania’s Secretary of the Commonwealth, Al Schmidt, condemned these “bad-faith mass challenges” as part of a “coordinated effort” using theories courts have repeatedly rejected.
At least 3,000 Americans overseas who applied to vote by mail had their ballots challenged, along with hundreds of other voters flagged using U.S. Postal Service data on address changes.
Conservative groups and Republicans are mounting legal challenges against overseas ballots in key states like Pennsylvania after Democrats emphasized efforts to encourage expats to vote.
Although traditionally associated with military voters, civilian expats now outnumber military voters; in 2020, over 28,000 overseas Pennsylvanians cast ballots, a notable margin in President Joe Biden’s narrow win by under 90,000 votes.
Counties are moving swiftly to address these challenges.
Chester County, for instance, dismissed 212 challenges based on USPS data during a Friday hearing where individuals confirmed their voting eligibility, including out-of-state students.
In Lycoming County, Karen DiSalvo challenged 71 ballots from overseas voters, previously representing a group of Republican congressmen in a failed lawsuit for more stringent verification of overseas ballots.
DiSalvo stated in an email to CNN that her challenges targeted non-military, overseas individuals who applied for mail ballots but were not registered in the county.
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Meanwhile, Charles Faltenovich of PA Fair Elections challenged 265 mail applications in Washington and Beaver counties, focusing on applicants who indicated indefinite overseas residence and were not military members.
While Pennsylvania law enforces registration requirements for overseas citizens, it lacks explicit rules for those indefinitely abroad.
Federal law guarantees these voters the right to vote in their last U.S. residence state, said election law expert Michael Morley from Florida State University.
The deadline for county boards to resolve these challenges is November 8, with Lycoming County scheduling a hearing that day.
Disqualified voters can appeal to Pennsylvania court, as can challengers if their objections are denied.
DiSalvo indicated she might appeal her challenges in court if they are rejected by county boards.
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