Some Voters in Pennsylvania Haven’t Received Mail Ballots, Prompting Lawsuit

Democrats lodged the suit ahead of the election.

Trays of mail in ballots are stacked at the Santa Clara County registrar of voters office in San Jose, Calif., on Oct. 21, 2024. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party on Oct. 30 sued election officials in Erie County after officials acknowledged some voters still haven’t received mail-in ballots.

Democrats asked the Court of Common Pleas in the swing state to release the names of all voters who requested a mail-in ballot and have not received one, as well as the names of voters who received their ballots up until at least Oct. 22.

Voters who applied for mail-in ballots but did not return them by the deadline should be permitted to cancel their application or ballot and vote in person on voting machines, the Democrats said.

The Erie County Board of Elections (BOE) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Erie County officials said Tuesday that “many voters in Erie County have not received their requested mail ballots.”

The county board has been working with state and federal officials to figure out how many voters have not received their ballots, the officials said in a statement.

Any person who applied for a mail ballot by 5 p.m. on Oct. 29 and has not received one can go to the board’s office, cancel their ballot, and receive a new one, officials said.

Democrats allege in the suit that 10,000 to 20,000 voters who requested mail ballots have either not received them or received them but have not submitted them.

They also pointed to how county officials told local news outlets in a previous release that some 296 voters received duplicate ballots, and that the U.S. Postal Service has said it could not account for a further 1,800 ballots.

“‘With Election Day one week away, the BOE has not yet properly addressed these issues, and these issues threaten to disenfranchise thousands of registered voters from casting ballots in the 2024 Election,” the complaint stated. “Further, the BOE is apparently providing inaccurate information to voters of their options and failing to take appropriate action to remedy a significant breakdown in operations associated with the General Election scheduled for November 5, 2024.”

The county, located in northwest Pennsylvania, has about 639,000 registered voters, according to county officials. Of those, 44 percent are Democrat, 25 percent are Republican, and 23 percent left their affiliation blank. The remainder are either independent or support a minor party.

Whichever presidential candidate wins Pennsylvania receives 19 electoral votes. Former President Donald Trump won the swing state in 2016. President Joe Biden received more votes than Trump in Pennsylvania in 2020.