Summary
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party has sued Erie County’s board of elections over mail ballot issues affecting between 10,000 and 20,000 voters. Some voters received extra ballots, while others never received theirs, potentially impacting their ability to vote in Tuesday’s election.
Only 52% of requested ballots had been returned in Erie, significantly trailing the state’s 67% return rate. The lawsuit demands extended election office hours, a process to track extra ballots, and disclosure of affected voters’ names.
Erie County’s political influence is due to its bellwether status in Pennsylvania, often mirroring state outcomes in tight races. It has swung between major parties, flipping from Obama to Trump in 2016 and back to Biden in 2020 by a narrow 1,400-vote margin.
No, that’s return rate. So we know at least 52% in the county got theirs, because they returned it and it was received. And statewide we know at least 67% got theirs, because they returned it and it was received.
Some (hopefully small) number of voters might have gotten their ballot but then ignored it or threw it away - or mistakenly spoiled it somehow (mistook it for a napkin at dinner time).
Others might have returned their ballots and then they got lost in the mail on the way back.
So the return rate isn’t completely indicative of how many failed to get sent out.
We don’t know for sure how many failed to be sent out, but it’s reasonable to assume the number is high, due to the large disparity between the statewide return rate and the county return rate.