According to a highly suspect member of Lehigh County's Board of Elections, whose credibility is diminished by virtue of the fact that he happens to be my brother, Lehigh County rejected all provisional ballots that were not signed by the voter. But they accepted provisional ballots that were signed by the voter but not signed by elections officials. Their rationale is that, in the latter case, the mistake was theirs and they did not want to disenfranchise a voter over their own error.
Pennsylvania's election law requires that a provisional voter "shall" sign an affidavit attesting that the provisional vote is the only one he is casting, and also "shall" sign the provisional ballot envelope. The reason this is mandatory and not simply directory is that, during the canvass, elections officials must compare the voter's signature with his registration signature.
The Pa Supreme Court has already ruled that provisional ballots must be rejected if they are left unsigned by the voter.
The law is less clear when it comes to the signature of the judge of elections and minority inspector. It does include an affidavit "Signed by Judge of Elections and minority inspector", but I see nothing in the statute itself that requires their signature. It does require them to state the reason for casting a provisional ballot, and Department of State Guidance calls for their signatures. How can the ballot be properly canvassed unless the reason for the provisional ballot is made clear by the judge of elections and minority inspector? Also, how does one know that the voter really signed the ballot unless it is attested to by the judge of elections and minority inspector?
I agree with Republicans on this one. This means they will likely lose.
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