HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania Voters Decide, a coalition of voting rights advocacy organizations, responded today to Wednesday’s legal filing by the Republican National Committee to stop counties in the commonwealth from informing voters of disqualifying errors with their mail ballots and offering them the chance to correct the mistake so that their ballot will be counted, a practice known as “notice-and-cure.” The case, RNC v. Schmidt, was filed at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and the petitioners asked the court to use its “King’s Bench” authority, which empowers the justices to consider issues of public importance without going through the lower courts.
According to data provided by the coalition, more than half of the counties in Pennsylvania have some form of notice-and-cure. And voters correct their mistakes at a rate ranging from 40% to 60%, leading to the participation of tens of thousands of eligible voters whose ballots otherwise would have been disqualified.
The coalition’s response was joined by 51 organizations, which are listed below:
“Notice-and-cure is a pro-voter practice. It leads to the participation of tens of thousands of voters who otherwise would have lost their vote and their voice. Voters are human and make human mistakes, like forgetting the secrecy envelope or their signature or that day’s date. The counties that have this practice are doing what they can to help voters and make sure that they can participate in elections. And this isn’t new. For decades, counties have assisted absentee voters who had disqualifying errors with their ballots, giving them a chance to correct their mistakes so that their ballots will be counted.
“This lawsuit is a brazen, needless attempt to silence those voters. It’s needless because there’s no practical or logical reason to stop the counties from this practice. The only reason to file this lawsuit is to get a legal stamp of approval for the disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of voters in Pennsylvania.
“Every Pennsylvanian who supports democracy and believes in the freedom to vote should see this case for what it is. And that’s voter suppression. Our hope is that the court upholds democracy and the rule of law and rejects this unconstitutional gambit to undercut free and fair elections.”
The following organizations signed the above statement:
All Voting is Local
CAIR- Pennsylvania
New Pennsylvania Project
Ceiba
New PA Project Education Fund
Action Together NEPA
In This Together NEPA
Make the Road PA
Better PA
Keystone Progress Education Fund
One PA
Center for Coalfield Justice
Protect Democracy
Pennsylvania Working Families Party
Philly Neighborhood Networks
Pennsylvania Policy Center
Pennsylvanians Together
Keystone Democracy
1Hood
Informing Democracy
Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance
Promote the Vote PA
ACLU of Pennsylvania
The Committee of Seventy
Red, Wine & Blue
Planned Parenthood Association of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania United
Conservation Voters of PA
EveryLibrary Institute
The League of Women Voters of PA
Advancement Project
POWER INTERFAITH
Pennsylvania Voice
RuralOrganizing.org
Casa San Jose
Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh (BCAP)
Positive Women's Network-USA
Mothers of Incarcerated Sons
PA Youth Vote
Voice of Westmoreland
People’s Action
Citizens for Better Elections
Disability Rights Pennsylvania
Asian Americans United
Pennsylvania Alliance Foundation
Campaign Legal Center
Brennan Center for Justice
Pennsylvania Stands Up
The Center for Popular Democracy Action
NextGen America
215 People's Alliance
