{"id":2350362,"date":"2024-10-03T18:25:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T22:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-gop-reps-demand-court-order-pa-to-vet-voters-eligibility\/"},"modified":"2024-10-03T18:27:36","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T22:27:36","slug":"five-gop-reps-demand-court-order-pa-to-vet-voters-eligibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-gop-reps-demand-court-order-pa-to-vet-voters-eligibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Five GOP Reps. Demand Court Order PA To Vet Voters&#8217; Eligibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffive-gop-reps-demand-court-order-pa-to-vet-voters-eligibility%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2350362&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Five Republican \u2064congressmen from Pennsylvania have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. \u2063District Court for the Middle \u200cDistrict of Pennsylvania, seeking to compel the state to verify the eligibility of voters casting ballots from outside the U.S. The \u200bplaintiffs, \u2064including Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, Glenn \u201cG.T.\u201d Thompson, \u200dLloyd Smucker, \u200dand Mike Kelly, are taking\u2064 action against the Pennsylvania Department of State and its officials due to concerns over \u2062the security of the voting process for\u2063 military and overseas \u200ccitizens. <\/p>\n<p>Under the Uniformed and \u200dOverseas Citizens Absentee Voting \u200dAct \u2064(UOCAVA), these voters \u2063can register and \u2064request ballots online, providing \u2062information like Social Security \u200bnumbers and\u200c state-issued \u200dIDs for verification.\u2064 However, \u2064a directive from the Pennsylvania Department of State mandates that counties accept voter \u2063registrations from\u2062 UOCAVA voters even if their provided \u200cinformation does not match \u2063state records, \u2062raising fears \u200cabout \u2063potential fraudulent ballots being \u200dsent and cast by ineligible individuals. The plaintiffs argue\u200b that this\u200c undermines the integrity of the electoral process and violates federal law, particularly the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which requires identity verification\u2064 for\u200b voter\u2064 registration.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Five Pennsylvania congressmen have asked a federal court to make the state verify the eligibility of voters casting ballots from outside the country.<\/p>\n<p>The case was filed this week in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania on behalf of Republican Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, Glenn &ldquo;G.T.&rdquo; Thompson, Lloyd Smucker, and Mike Kelly against the Pennsylvania Department of State, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt, and Jonathan Marks, deputy secretary for elections and commissions for Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>The federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) allows members of the military and nonmilitary U.S. citizens abroad to receive a ballot and vote from anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n<p>UOCAVA voters can download the Federal Postcard Application (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fvap.gov\/uploads\/FVAP\/Forms\/fpca.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FPCA)<\/a> from the internet and use it as a voter registration form and as a ballot request. The FPCA asks for a Social Security number and a state-issued driver&rsquo;s license or identification number. This information is matched with state information to verify a voter is a real person. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pa.gov\/content\/dam\/copapwp-pagov\/en\/dos\/resources\/voting-and-elections\/directives-and-guidance\/2018-HAVA-Matching-Directive.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">directive<\/a> from the Pennsylvania Department of State tells counties they cannot reject voter registrations from UOCAVA voters just because the numbers they provide on their application don&rsquo;t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-gop-reps-urge-court-to-order-pa-to-verify-voter-eligibility-4\/\" title=\"Five GOP Reps. Urge Court to Order PA to Verify Voter Eligibility\">match state database numbers<\/a>. The state tells counties they &ldquo;must&rdquo; accept UOCAVA applications, even if the driver&rsquo;s license or last four of the Social Security number cannot be matched.<\/p>\n<p>Without verifying voter data, the state could potentially mail ballots out to fake people or to those ineligible to vote. The policy creates a vulnerability where bad actors could cast extra ballots.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Plaintiffs who are congressional candidates in the 2024 election, are forced to participate in Pennsylvania&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-gop-reps-urge-court-to-order-pa-to-verify-voter-eligibility\/\" title=\"Five GOP Reps. Urge Court to Order PA to Verify Voter Eligibility\">illegally structured federal election process<\/a>,&rdquo; the filing by the Election Research Institute reads. &ldquo;The Commonwealth&rsquo;s practice is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-gop-reps-urge-court-to-order-pa-to-verify-voter-eligibility-2\/\" title=\"Five GOP Reps. Urge Court to Order PA to Verify Voter Eligibility\">illegally structured election process<\/a> which makes Pennsylvania&rsquo;s elections vulnerable to ineligible votes by individuals or entities who could purport to be UOCAVA-eligible, register to vote without verification of identity or eligibility, but receive a ballot by email and then vote a ballot without providing identification at any step in the process.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Attorney Erick G. Kaardal says the state&rsquo;s guidance conflicts with federal law. The Help America Vote Act (<a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R46949#:~:text=HAVA%20took%20three%20main%20approaches%20to\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HAVA<\/a>) requires states to meet minimum requirements for all voter registration applicants before giving them UOCAVA voting privileges. They must provide verification of identity.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Defendants may not create a directive that contradicts UOCAVA and HAVA which are both Congressional enactments,&rdquo; court papers say.<\/p>\n<p>The Federalist asked the Pennsylvania Department of State to explain the rationale behind its office&rsquo;s guidance for county officials to exempt UOCAVA ballot applicants from any verification requirements, and to explain how the department safeguards against ineligible voters if not verifying address and identification. It did not respond.<\/p>\n<p>UOCAVA voting played a role in the 2020 election. The case cites a report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission that says in 2020, the state received approximately 27,000 ballots through UOCAVA, with approximately 20,000 of those ballots coming from non-military applicants.<\/p>\n<p>Already in 2024, more than 25,000 UOCAVA ballots have been transmitted to potentially unverified UOCAVA applicants, court papers say, citing the Department of State Absentee and Mail Ballot Report.<\/p>\n<p>The congressmen asked the court to order the state to direct counties to verify UOCAVA voters&rsquo; identities before counting UOCAVA ballots.&nbsp;They also asked the court to order counties to segregate 2024 UOCAVA ballots until voters&rsquo; identity can be verified.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The candidates forced participation in the illegal election structure regarding absentee voters and the tally of those votes, may not accurately reflect the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-gop-reps-urge-court-to-order-pa-to-verify-voter-eligibility-3\/\" title=\"Five GOP Reps. Urge Court to Order PA to Verify Voter Eligibility\">legally valid votes cast<\/a>,&rdquo; court papers say. &ldquo;An inaccurate vote tally is a concrete and particularized injury to the plaintiff candidates.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>For more election news and updates, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electionbriefing.com<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lara-logan-challenges-media-to-ask-certain-questions-about-afghanistan\/\" title=\"Lara Logan Challenges Media To Ask Certain Questions About Afghanistan\">award-winning investigative journalist<\/a> with decades of media experience.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Five PA congressmen seek court order for voter eligibility verification<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":2350364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Capitol.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[42293,6571,6203,5836,42292],"class_list":["post-2350362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-courtorder","tag-elections","tag-gop","tag-pennsylvania","tag-votereligibility"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Capitol.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2350362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2350362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2350362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2350364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2350362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2350362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2350362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}