Butler County, Pa. — The ACLU of Pennsylvania and Public Interest Law Center jointly responded to the ruling today by the Butler County Court of Common Pleas in its case regarding ‘naked ballots’ and access to provisional ballots. The court ruled against the two voters who brought the case, saying that the issue should be resolved by the Legislature.
Two Butler County voters sued the county board of elections after it refused to count their provisional ballots, which they cast after they learned that they had forgotten the secrecy envelope as part of the mail ballot process in the 2024 primary election. The board of elections allowed voters who had made other minor errors on their mail ballots to correct those errors by submitting a provisional ballot.
The ACLU of Pa. and the Law Center represented the two voters to whom the board of elections denied that option.
The following can be attributed to Mimi McKenzie, legal director of the Public Interest Law Center:
“Today’s decision is disappointing, and we and our clients are considering our options for appellate review. The provisional ballot process has existed for more than two decades for scenarios just like this, and the county has an obligation to utilize it.”
The following can be attributed to Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania:
“The Butler County board of elections was wrong to disenfranchise these voters. Provisional ballots are a failsafe designed to protect voters in just this type of situation. We will continue to work to protect our clients’ rights.”
The ACLU of Pennsylvania and Public Interest Law Center successfully litigated a similar case in Delaware County after the 2023 primary election. In that case, the county rejected provisional ballots from all mail voters with disqualifying errors.
A Delaware County common pleas judge ruled in the voters’ favor, and the county did not appeal the decision.
Additional details of the Butler County case can be found at aclupa.org/genser.
