Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s vote was fraudulently cast in the general election, but it still counted in the results.
Wolf, a Democrat, casually mentioned during a Tuesday interview on KDKA Radio that his wife Frances Wolf dropped off his mail-in ballot at the York County Courthouse. That’s not allowed.
In Pennsylvania, voters may request to have a ballot mailed to their home. The ballot is then personally returned to a ballot box by the voter. Having someone else deliver the ballot is considered election fraud, punishable by a $1,000 fine and a year in prison.
The exception is voters with a disability, who may have someone else deliver their ballot if they get prior approval.
“Here you have a guy who has said election fraud is minor and it never happens. This is election fraud. He’s not trying to manipulate the outcome, but this is an example of fraud,” Republican state Rep. Seth Grove told The Epoch Times.
Wolf’s office has called the situation an honest mistake.
But Wolf should have known better, since in June, he vetoed a voting reform bill that would have made this very action legal.
“He vetoed a bill that would have fixed that, and ensured his wife wasn’t a criminal,” Grove quipped. “At the same time, he could also pardon her. ‘Just drop it off honey. I’ll pardon you later.’ I don’t know. I wasn’t there for the conversation.”
Vetoed House Bill 1300 would have allowed family members to drop off ballots as long as they prove they live in the same household, Grove said.
“The key is to have election officials there and party observers watching,” Grove said. The ballot box should be treated as a polling place.”
The York County building, where county residents cast mailed ballots, has a drop box by the metal detector where people enter. A law enforcement officer operates the metal detector and monitors the box.
“I told them they should have an election employee there to make sure they have it correct,” said Grove, who also is from York County. “If you bring in multiple ballots, those ballots are to be set aside and not counted. We know the governor’s vote counted because it didn’t get pulled out. It went into the box.”
Republican-led House Bill 1300 included a host of election reforms, updating Pennsylvania’s 1937 Election Code, and soon, Wolf will have another crack at those reforms. They have been reintroduced as House Bill 1800.
“It is out of committee, on the floor, ready to go,” Grove said of HB 1800. “I have confidence the General Assembly can move it to the governor’s desk. I think he needs to come to the table for election reform, to make sure every legal voter has access to participate.”
The bill calls for voter photo identification, big fines for election tampering, and sets parameters for early in-person voting.
Will Wolf veto it again? His office offered no response.
The House is expected to move on it next week.
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