ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A local state senator has rescinded his challenge against more than 500 mail-in ballot applications of former Lehigh County voters now living overseas.
Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong confirmed that the Board of Elections has canceled its Friday morning meeting after state Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh/Bucks, withdrew the challenge against 519 ballots.
Under federal law, Americans living abroad who no longer have a stateside residence are allowed to vote in federal elections under their last address.
The law is separate from the mail-in ballots used by members of the military and their families serving overseas.
Coleman's case
Coleman alleged in a complaint that the county erred by not entering the voters in SURE, Pennsylvania's federally mandated voter database.
He filed a similar complaint against 1,300 overseas applications in Bucks County. His challenges appeared to be part of an organized statewide effort — another 2,500 challenges where filed in Chester, Lycoming, York and other counties.
In an interview Tuesday, Coleman said his challenge wasn't meant to disenfranchise voters but to press counties across Pennsylvania to standardize how voter registrations are handled. Of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, 11 of them enter voters casting ballots through the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act into SURE. Lehigh and Bucks counties do not.
"I'm not trying to point fingers but rather get it fixed so all counties register them in accordance with the law."State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh/Bucks
The challenge, however, did carry the possibility that voters would have been stripped of their votes.
Not dropping it
In a text message Wednesday, Coleman said he will seek other ways to challenge the registration practice instead. He was optimistic a series of hearings between state senators, county officials and the Pennsylvania Department of State would bring about a resolution.
"The county boards here are just going to say they are doing what the Department of State is telling them to do. I'm not trying to point fingers but rather get it fixed so all counties register them in accordance with the law," he wrote.
By withdrawing the challenge, Coleman is avoiding a $5,190 bill. Each challenge carries as $10 fee.
In emails viewed by LehighValleyNews.com, Lehigh County Chief Clerk of Elections Tim Benyo said his office's practices were in accordance with federal law and called the challenges frivolous.
Sarah Murray, the county's deputy solicitor, said the overseas voters did not need to be entered into the SURE system because they were not eligible to vote in state or local elections.
Even if the Board of Elections upheld the challenges, it's unlikely the decision would have affected any of the federal races.
Polls entering Election Day showed the presidential, U.S. Senate and 7th Congressional District races were toss-ups. By Wednesday morning, however, Republicans appeared to have won all three races by narrow but significant margins.
