Six Republican members of the U.S. House from Pennsylvania amended their legal action on Monday as they seek action over loose processes employed by multiple states when verifying overseas voters are citizens with the right to vote.
The lawsuit filed by Representatives Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14), Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11), Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), and Scott Perry (R-PA-10) on October 7, and amended Monday, seeks immediately action against the Pennsylvania Department of State by courts “to ensure legal compliance with federal and state law regarding the verification of voter registration applicants’ identity and eligibility before accepting and counting ballots” from applicants who are citizens and Pennsylvania voters but live outside the United States.
In their lawsuit, the lawmakers note federal laws, especially the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), as well as Pennsylvania law mandate that states must create and follow certain procedures for citizens who seek to vote while living overseas.
Despite both federal and local laws mandating applicants provide their social security number or state identification number, the Republicans allege both Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt and Deputy Secretary for Elections Jonathan Marks, “have issued directive and guidance to county officials to exempt UOCAVA applicants entirely from any verification requirements.”
They argued Schmidt and Marks issued their guidance any legal support, and their decision to allow overseas voters to register and request ballots without providing federally required information could result in foreign countries influencing next month’s election.
They warned, “Foreign nations, in efforts to interfere with U.S. elections, could easily submit falsified” records to Pennsylvania, allowing their “ballots to unduly influence U.S. elections.”
Additionally, the Republicans stated the loose policies for overseas voters give, “an opportunity for inclusion of ineligible ballots such that the ultimate tally of the votes may not accurately reflect the legal results which could affect a close Congressional election.”
According to Spotlight PA, more than 1.2 million overseas ballots were sent to military and overseas voters ahead of the 2020 election, and approximately 890,000 were ultimately counted by election officials in various states.
The Congressmen claim just 3,600 of the 25,000 overseas ballots will go to military members.
Pennsylvania has reportedly already mailed more than 25,000 ballots to overseas voters, according to The Washington Examiner, which reported the number is “large enough to be a decisive bloc in the election.”
With days left for overseas voters to request ballots, it remains unclear exactly how many will be requested and returned prior to Election Day, but the 2020 election in Pennsylvania was reported to be determined by just 80,555 voters when President Joe Biden was declared the winner by just 1.17 percent.
The margin of victory for former President Donald Trump was even narrower in 2016, the Republican was declared the winner with just 44,292 more votes than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ballots” by Davison County Election Commission.
