Election authorities in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, warned Monday that some 3,400 ballots have been rejected for «errors» and «incorrect information,» which is an «unfair disenfranchisement» of thousands of voters.
The president of the Philadelphia election commission, Lisa Deeley, has warned of the existence of these ballots after the Pennsylvania Superior Court forbade the authorities to count them over the weekend for having been sent with incorrect or non-existent data, such as dates.
Deely has indicated, however, that the court’s decision a few days before the midterm elections scheduled for Tuesday, «promotes the lack of confidence of the population in the electoral system and is a tragedy for the voters of Pennsylvania».
However, it has released the names of affected voters and urged urgent action to replace the ballots. Allegheny County authorities have also released two lists of more than a thousand voters whose ballots have been returned for failure to provide the correct ballot date or to attach the correct ballot.
«I am very disappointed in the Pennsylvania Superior Court’s decision regarding these misdated ballots. Handwritten dates should not be sufficient grounds to disqualify these voters,» Deely asserted.
Officials said City Hall has set up an office that will remain open through Tuesday to help those affected resolve the problem.
