Democracy depends on making sure that all lawful votes are counted promptly. Stringing out an election contest might be the norm in a banana republic, but public confidence in our election integrity demands that results be swift and final. Yet, exactly three months after the election, there still is no certified winner for the third spot in Lehigh County's contested judicial race. The courts are the reason. After state courts have bungled this issue, the ACLU wants federal courts to weigh in, too. I guess the Hague will be next.
At issue in this election are 257 mail-in ballots (MIBs) that were returned on time but were either undated or had the wrong date completely. Since they were all received on or before election day, this is a technicality. In a normal world, they'd be counted. But No.
Last year, in the Presidential, the Pa. Supremes managed to completely screw this up. Three justices said that the law demands that the ballots be dated and that there should be no exceptions made for idiots (I paraphrase). Other justices insisted they be counted because we're all idiots (I paraphrase). Tie breaker David Wecht said we should count them, but only in that election. Never again. No idiot exception.
Given that about 70% of MIBs come from Democrats, you could be certainly that a fairly large number of them would fail to date the ballot. We're too busy trying to decide whether our sexual orientation on any given day, and this is a trivial matter. But not to Republicans, who even keep diaries of their bowelk movements. So as you might have expected, Lehigh County's judicial race had 257 MIBs that were either improperly dated or not at all. I'm surprised there weren't more.
Do these MIBs count?Thanks to the Pa Supremes, with justices all over the place, no one had a clue. So after the election, once this issue was uncovered, a lawsuit was filed.
Judge Ed Reibman probably thought he could fade away into retirement, but he was sent in to resolve the issue. He reached the logical conclusion. Technical defects should be ignored, regardless what the law actually says. His opinion came down November 30.
Of course he was appealed. But get thus. The Commonwealth Court let it fester and failed to rule until January 3. It took these highly paid judges over a month to rule on a fairly straightforward issue. Amazingly, it did so in an opinion that piously pronounces that the "integrity of the election process immediate resolution of disputes that prevent certification." The Commonwealth Court reversed Reibman, reaching the logical conclusion that the exact wording of the law must be followed, come hell or high water.
Of course, their ruling was immediately appealed to the Pa Supremes. That's the court that created this mess. After letting the matter collect dust a few weeks, the court that created this problem refused to step in and resolve it.
Now Lehigh County's Elections Board has no idea what to do because the ACLU has stepped in and sued in federal court. I have no idea why it waited until now.
Enough's enough.
I happen to think undated ballots should count. But there's a very important public interest in having swift and certain elections/ That's why I detested Donald Trumnp's bullshit when he lost. Democrats should stop pushing this issue.
Move on.
I don't understand your last paragraph. "Democrats should stop pushing this issue." You state the fact that no dates on ballots should be counted as a vote and the democrats agree. Do you mean Republicans should stop pushing this issue. I happen to agree with you that all ballots should count and yes the supreme court did foul this whole thing up. That brings us to another issue. The SUPREME COURT should not be political but it is extremely political. They are the reason this country is in such a quandary or should I say MESS. The Supreme Court in America sucks because it is too political. They are appointed by politicians to serve the will of the parties in power and ignore the people regardless of what is right or what is wrong. They suck. They Suck. They suck. As a former attorney how do you feel about our political SUPREME COURT?
ReplyDeleteAs long as there have been elections there have been controversy. Bernie forgets the 2000 election or the election from 1876. When a person leaves a polling booth he or she is done. Forget to vote for someone or vote for the wrong person there is no do-over. Introduce a voting method that increases the chances of voting error, you have to live with that. Do-overs just increase the uncertainty. Remember the hanging chads and the undervotes and the desire to "fix" the votes to represent the true intent? The correct marks on the ballot mean something. A mark in the right box is no different than the "mark" of a date.
ReplyDeleteIs a postmark considered an official stamp? If a ballot was postmarked on or before election day, I would consider it a valid ballot. We dont hand write the date at the polls. I am sure any lawyer can argue the law does not say the date must be hand written in cursive writing. What should be the test of validity was whether or not the ballot was duly requested and cast on or before election day.
ReplyDeleteMailin ballots should be here to stay. What is good for other states is good for PA. Psst, legislators need not be present and can now vote remotely.
Stacey Stacey Abrams won Georgia!!
ReplyDeleteHillary Clinton won the presidency!!!!!
agreed. the winner should already be accumulating pension benefits by now.
ReplyDeleteNo, the rules are not to be changed for just this one time, if it is a rule that is why we have rules, not to change them when they go against us, this is not a hard issue to decide. Look at the law, that is why we have laws and decide based on the law, anything less is corrupting the election system. We need to go back to in person voting and get these elections over in a day at most. This is a third world banana republic and it is being made that by design.
ReplyDeleteI still think most of the folks of voting age can get their butts to the voting place. It is no secret when elections are held. Start it at 5 am and end it at nine and you can cover majority of folks to get their voting done. Or perhaps weekend voting. And here is an idea on the outside chance work interferes take an hour or two off as vacation or leave. Or take vacation day and go vote then go to breakfast. You do it for other crap. Absentee voting should be allowed but rare as hen's teeth with short list of exceptions. Somehow most folks can get what they want done when it comes to fun time. If your vote is so important and sacrosanct, get you butt there. And you can figure out all the technical crap in your life, but you can't date the outside of an envelope? What a bunch of whiners.
ReplyDeleteIf ballot is filled out completely, correctly, and received before due date;
ReplyDeleteThen Accept;
Else Reject;
endif
That should save us lawsuits and delays but, alas, people aren't very good at elementary logic.
The courts need to rule on the law as written, if we don't like the law, change the law, if we don't like the constitution, put forth an amendment to change it.
ReplyDeleteIt is so very simple, unless you want to have an ever changing law or constitution to suit whoever is in power. Then we are indeed a third world country, gripped with chaos and instability.
This is a classic case of the "individual v. society". On the one hand, the right of the voter to have his or her vote counted is a bedrock individual right. On the other hand, the community has a reasonable right to expect that elections will be conducted fairly and concluded swiftly.
ReplyDeleteIt's always amusing to see the Democrats coming down on the side of individual rights regardless of community values when it comes to voting rights and free speech, and then to see the Republicans do the same thing when it comes to gun rights, banning books, wearing a mask, vaccines, etc.
The fact is that the courts are the only ones who have the power in our constitutional system to harmonize the rights of the individual with those of society at large. Would you prefer a dictator?
Democrats have cheated in elections almost from the beginning --Kennedy in Chicago was only one example. Democrats are ruining this country that is a fact--WE NEED TRUMP MORE THAN EVER.
ReplyDelete10:57 further to your message. The bigger problem is that we do not punish those that commit the crimes. Start with the politicians who run for office. There have been a number of them who have committed election fraud by having someone else fill out their mail in ballot, utilizing the wrong address on the ballot, Utilizing a non-residence on the ballot, voting twice when they sent one in and one of their minions sent on in for them as well. Start with harshly punish them with full penalties of the law plus that if you commit election fraud you never can be involved with politics, hold a government position of any kind or work for a company that works with the government. Until we start with them and fix them no one else can really be held accountable.
ReplyDeleteThen move on to the politicians who sent in false electoral college reports. They should go to jail for a long time for election fraud on a grand scale. And most of them are politicians as well so ban them from ever being a politician again, working for or with the government in any way and working for or with any company that works with the government. And take it one step further for these special clowns. Put the same restrictions on their families.
This is the type of stuff all of us should be pushing for.
"The fact is that the courts are the only ones who have the power in our constitutional system to harmonize the rights of the individual with those of society at large. Would you prefer a dictator?"
ReplyDeleteI am a strong believer in our judicial system. You are right, but in this case, the courts have refused to harmonize anything. They created this mess last year with a decision all over the place. And I am just stunned that both appellate courts took a month each to rule. This is the height of judicial arrogance. The only judge to handle this matter promptly was Reibman. These decisions need to be made very promptly not in a month. And the very court that created all the confusion has now run away from it.
". As a former attorney how do you feel about our political SUPREME COURT?"
ReplyDeleteThis is about Pa Courts, not the US Supreme Court. My view is that the Pa Supreme (Dem) and Commonwealth Court (GOP) are both highly partisan. I have often stated that the most political animals in existence are judges. Where have you been?
Yea Bernie, and they are animals that can give two shots about human beings!
Delete"The bigger problem is that we do not punish those that commit the crimes. Start with the politicians who run for office. There have been a number of them who have committed election fraud by having someone else fill out their mail in ballot, utilizing the wrong address on the ballot, "
ReplyDeletePlease identify instead of "there have been a number of them." The only case of which I'm aware was done by a GOP candidate, and he is being prosecuted.
All we have to do these days is utter the word "election" to have all the shade tree legal scholars run to the rescue.
ReplyDeletePA Republican party made a big mistake in 2016 by ignoring the PA supreme court races. While I disagree with folks that say the court is a rubber stamp for the Wolf administration, it certainly seems friendly to its whishes.
This should not be hard, the law and the constitution is clearly written, any literate person should be able to make a quick decision. If they cant do it, they should get another job. The stalling is an attempt to find a way around the law or constitution. Many of these people need to be fired.
ReplyDeleteIf you complain about election rules prior to the election, you're a racist or conspiracy theorist or some other kind of "ist." If you complain and/or appeal after the election, you're a sour grapes enemy of democracy.
ReplyDeleteWhen and how is the correct time and way to complain, officially? After the election, no elected pol has any incentive to mess with the system that got them their job. When is the proper and effective time to address this stuff? Part of me hopes it drags on for years.
Bernie
ReplyDeleteyou keep climbing up my ladder of respectability and if you keep climbing that ladder you will run out of rungs. I love your answer about our Supreme Court and judges being Political animals. many of them are a disgrace to their profession and yet on the other hand there are so many that are the complete opposite. Love your response. After the judges read your response, I promise you I will visit you in the local pokie. You can see how brave I am....I am signing my response with an alias
keep up the good work
Hokie Joe
Will the federal court defer to the state by recognizing the ruling of the Commonwealth Court and the decision of the PA Supreme Court to not hear the appeal?
ReplyDelete