PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Two Republican Senate members penned a letter to Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman regarding the upcoming elections.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-23) and Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward (R-39) listed several complaints they have surrounding the election process in Pennsylvania, particularly following the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision that undated mail-in ballots should not be counted.
"We are particularly troubled when your office issued knee-jerk guidance regarding undated mail-in ballots following a United State Supreme Court decision last month," Corman and Ward wrote.
The senators asked in the letter how the state will enforce the rules surrounding mail-in ballots on Election Day, including how undated and improperly dated mail-in ballots will be handled.
"Your office should ensure counties have clarity that undated mail-in ballots should be kept separate from mail-in ballots with a completed voter declaration and that those ballots should not be counted," the pair said in a letter.
Additionally, the letter called for poll watchers to have better access on election day.
"Poll watchers are a legitimate, statutorily authorized, component of ensuring election integrity. To perform their job, as intended by the law, they must be permitted access to places where they can actually observe the process at all polling and canvassing locations," the letter stated.
The topic of timely and transparent results released to the public was also addressed. As well as the conflict of, "reports regarding mail-in ballots of unverified voters" emerging.
"Please provide an explanation of how this has occurred and provide assurances that no ballot will be counted where the identification of the voter has not been verified," Senators Corman and Ward wrote.
Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman's office released the following statement to FOX43 regarding the letter:
Today’s letter from Sens. Ward and Corman simply rehashes topics Acting Secretary Chapman has repeatedly addressed.
All of their concerns and questions are addressed through publicly available information on our website, vote.pa.gov.
That information includes the department’s newly updated guidance to counties on handling undated and wrongly dated ballots, as well as the secretary’s response letter to Rep. Francis Ryan that provides the correct information about non-verified mail ballots.
