VOTING BY MAIL IN PENNSYLVANIA? DON’T FORGET YOUR SECOND ENVELOPE!
Pennsylvania’s requirement of a secrecy ballot added another step to the confusing list of boxes voters must check to cast their ballot. Additionally, late changes to election procedures and unclear deadlines make voting more difficult for residents.
On August 24, 2020, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article titled, “Pa. Republicans propose election law changes as anxiety builds over mail voting.” The article reports the new proposed changes to vote by mail laws in the commonwealth. These changes would get rid of most of, if not all, mail-in ballot drop boxes, making it much more difficult for people in remote places to cast their ballot. Republican Majority leader, Jake Corman, said in a statement that the proposed plan would help to streamline the process and ensure a safe election. However, these last-minute changes to how ballots are cast and votes are counted creates confusion. The plan, which was a clear attempt at suppression, was also opposed by the state’s Democratic governor.
The Republicans also asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to step in, in hopes of shortening the deadline for counting ballots. However, on October 19, 2020, Adam Liptak of The New York Times, reported that the court had ruled that a three-day extension was required by the coronavirus pandemic and delays in mail service, and it ordered the counting of ballots clearly mailed on or before Election Day and of those with missing or illegible postmarks “unless a preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that it was mailed after Election Day” (Liptak). This ruling was a defeat for President Trump who has continued to emphasize the fraudulent nature of mail-in voting.
However, the Pennsylvania Republicans were able to make one very notable change to the 2020 election proceeding, requiring mail-in voters to use secrecy envelopes or mail their ballot in two envelopes. In an article, written by Andrew Prokop published by Vox News, the necessary procedures are outlined as, “Once you fill out the ballot itself, you must place it inside the provided secrecy envelope, which contains no information about your identity. Then you put the sealed secrecy envelope inside a different postage-paid addressed return envelope, on which you have to sign your name and write your address” (Prokop). Adding another hoop to an already inefficient process might have turned people away from voting at all. But if anything, the confusion will lead to more mistakes made by voters. The state’s supreme court also stated that ballots that are concealed within a second envelope will be demanded as “naked ballots” and will be thrown out.
While the additional envelope could also reassure some voters, it is also a strike against voting by mail, which has been a point of controversy in key swing states across the country. Voting by mail, which dates back to the Civil War, has not been proven to increase voter fraud. Additionally, absentee ballots, which voters can request prior to the election, ensure a higher level of security as the person’s address will be printed on the ballot. Sadly, the 2020 system had several hiccups. In Pennsylvania and other swing states like Georgia, many people requested absentee ballots or mail-in ballots and never received them.
The addition of the secrecy ballot in Pennsylvania highlights the complexity of the voting process and how the 2013 Supreme Court case affects the overall clarity of the election. Quick changes and additional rules poured lighter fluid on the fire that was the 2020 election.