{"id":2395141,"date":"2025-01-25T14:48:57","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T19:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rejected-mail-in-ballots-decreased-in-november-election-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-01-25T14:50:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T19:50:30","slug":"rejected-mail-in-ballots-decreased-in-november-election-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rejected-mail-in-ballots-decreased-in-november-election-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Rejected mail-in ballots decreased in November election &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"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\">20<\/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%2Frejected-mail-in-ballots-decreased-in-november-election-washington-examiner%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=2395141&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>The article discusses \u2064the meaningful decrease in the rejection of\u200b mail-in ballots \u200bduring the November election in Pennsylvania, as reported by the\u200c Department\u2062 of State.Approximately\u200d 1% of the 1.9\u2063 million mail-in votes were rejected, a \u2064notable improvement from the 2.4% rejection rate observed in the earlier April primary. The primary reasons \u200bfor ballot rejections included late submissions, missing or incorrect dates, absent signatures, and missing secrecy envelopes. State Secretary Al Schmidt attributed this reduction to a year-long educational initiative aimed at voters and improvements in the mail-in voting process.<\/p>\n<p>In the election, more than 7 million overall ballots were cast, wiht the spotlight on Pennsylvania\u2019s critical 19 electoral votes. President Donald Trump won the state by a margin of \u200c120,000 votes, increasing \u200bhis victory margin from the previous election \u2063against Hillary Clinton. However,\u2064 the U.S. Senate race was much closer,with incumbent \u2063Democrat Bob Casey Jr. conceding to Republican \u200cDave McCormick by a mere 17,000 votes after a protracted\u2063 counting process complicated by defective mail-in ballots. The article also <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">highlights controversies involving local officials defying state court rulings<\/a> regarding ballot counting, which led to discussions about legislative measures to hold such\u200c officials accountable.  <\/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<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Rejected mail-in ballots decreased in November election<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1949493\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; The number of Pennsylvania mail-in ballots rejected for errors decreased by 57% in the general election, according to Department of State.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Of the roughly 1.9 million votes received on Nov. 5, 1% were tossed. In the April primary, 2.4% of ballots were rejected. The most common reasons were votes received after the 8 p.m. deadline on Election Day (33%), incorrect or missing dates (23%), no signature (17%) or missing secrecy envelope (15%).<\/p>\n<p>State Secretary Al Schmidt said improvements made between the two elections, including a year-long education initiative and early printing, &ldquo;helped to significantly reduce the number of voters who were disenfranchised because of a mistake made when completing their mail ballot materials.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>More than 7 million ballots were cast in total on Election Day, with all eyes on Pennsylvania and its highly coveted 19 electoral votes. Ultimately, President Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris by 120,000, nearly tripling the margin that led him to victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania&rsquo;s other national race for U.S. Senate, however, came down to less than 17,000 votes. The razor-thin margin meant that incumbent Democrat&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_e231a784-a85d-11ef-bdd8-9fdf4dcc4598.html\">Bob Casey Jr. waited 17 days to concede<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;to Republican Dave McCormick as drama unfolded over defective mail-in ballots.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/buckscopa.portal.civicclerk.com\/event\/506\/media\">During a Nov. 14 meeting,<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;Bucks County&nbsp;Commission Chairwoman Diane Ellis-Marseglia said she knew counting roughly 400 votes without dates defied a state Supreme Court ruling, but she didn&rsquo;t care.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think we all know that precedent by a court does not matter anymore in this country, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bucks-county-commissioners-vote-to-count-illegal-ballots-in-pennsylvania-recount-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Bucks County commissioners vote to count illegal ballots in Pennsylvania recount - Washington Examiner\">people violate laws anytime<\/a> they want,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;So for me, if I violate this law, it&rsquo;s because I want a court to pay attention.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>And pay attention they did. Four days after the board&rsquo;s action,&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_86cad14e-a5f7-11ef-b397-ffee35221c13.html\">the state Supreme Court reaffirmed<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;that the ballots were defective.<\/p>\n<p>The 4-3 order came after the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacourts.us\/news-and-statistics\/cases-of-public-interest\/no-136-mm-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>state and national Republican Party filed<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;for extraordinary relief over the issue, which also unfolded in Centre, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.<\/p>\n<p>In a concurring statement, Justice Kevin Brobson reminded local officials they lack any authority to interpret state law. Justices David Wecht and Sally Updyke Mundy agreed.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I write separately to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-targets-rogue-officials-after-u-s-senate-recount-dust-up-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Bill targets \u2018rogue\u2019 officials after U.S. Senate recount dust-up - Washington Examiner\">disabuse local elections officials<\/a> of the notion that they have the authority to ignore Election Code provisions that they believe are unconstitutional,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Only the courts under our charter may declare a statute, or provision thereof, unconstitutional.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In December, Rep. Joe D&rsquo;Orsie, R-York, said he&rsquo;s drafting legislation that would give the state House the power to remove county and municipal officials, like Ellis-Marseglia, from office. It would be similar to the impeachment process and would ultimately require voter approval.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1949493\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1949493\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rejected mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania fell by 57% in November<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2395142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24115689612853-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6571,39540,37049,33358,32076],"class_list":["post-2395141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-elections","tag-mail-in-ballots","tag-november-election","tag-voter-turnout","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24115689612853-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395141","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2395141"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2395145,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395141\/revisions\/2395145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2395142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2395141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2395141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2395141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}