Pennsylvania election policies for overseas voters have created vulnerabilities that could lead to corruption according to a court case. With early voting underway, the Pennsylvania Department of State and six members of Congress have been in a legal battle over whether these voters’ identities should be verified before they are given a ballot.
But the case was dismissed Tuesday, at the request of Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt, not based on the merits of the case but because of timing. Plaintiffs “delayed too long to file their action, they lack standing, they have failed to join indispensable parties, and they have failed to articulate a viable cause of action,” Judge Christopher C. Conner of the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania said in his decision.
The case was brought by U.S. Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, Lloyd Smucker, Mike Kelly, and Scott Perry, who joined the action later.
The case stems from guidance the state gave counties regarding the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), a federal law that assures American citizens who are out of the country can still vote. Sometimes UOCAVA voters are called military voters because they used to be mostly military. But since 2014, nonmilitary voters have outpaced those in the military, data from the Election Administration and Voting Survey shows.
Image CreditElection Administration and Voting Survey
Voters who have lived outside the United States for years and are not sure if they will return may
