Voter anger is rising in Pennsylvania’s Erie County after the second mishap in this voting season led to some residents not getting ballots they requested.
Earlier this month, nearly 300 Erie County voters were sent their own mail-in ballot and another voter’s ballot, as well, according to Go Erie.
That led Joe Morris, political science department chair at Mercyhurst University, to say this was a bad place for a mistake to take place, according to Your Erie.
“To have a problem in Pennsylvania is bad. To have a problem in Pennsylvania’s swing-iest swing county is absolutely horrible,” he said.
Board of Elections chairman Andre Horton, a Democratic member of Erie County Council, downplayed the gaffe by saying, “There’s really nothing to see here,” Go Erie reported.
But there was something to see Monday outside of the Erie County Board of Elections office as residents who had requested to be sent mail-in ballots lined up to get some answers and cast their ballots, according to Your Erie.
“I ordered a mail-in ballot probably a month ago, and they sent me an email two weeks ago, saying that they mailed it, and if I hadn’t gotten it yet, I should contact my local election office, and so I did that, and they said it’s on the way, but I never got it,” said Jessamine Saxton, an Erie County resident.
The line seeking ballots and answers was so long some people waited for four hours, Your Erie reported.
Erie County “is a bellwether area in a bellwether state,” said Thomas J. Baldino, an emeritus professor of political science at Wilkes University, according to U.S. News and World Report. “The winning candidate will want to capture it for morale purposes and hope that it’s called early on election night.”
The county has a trend of voting for winners, which makes it a major prize as the campaigns of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris try to squeeze every possible vote that they can in Pennsylvania.
People in Erie, Pennsylvania have been waiting in line almost 5 hours to get their early ballots in. The Clerk tells us many never received their mail in ballots so have to come in person.
— Annelise Nielsen (@annelisenews) October 28, 2024
Because it’s in the Court House people can’t have their phones on them. pic.twitter.com/m3M836CBJV
Residents are aware that each vote has an outsize importance, which is what led some to stand in line Monday.
“Here in Erie, it’s a swing county, and this county can come down to one vote. This county is very split,” voter Logan Reynolds said, according to Your Erie
“I mean, I might complain about standing here, but I’m here, and I’m staying until I get my vote right on that system and pass it right on through,” voter Monique Bean said.
County officials said there is a workaround for those who did not get the ballots they requested.
“If you haven’t received your mail-in ballot, you can still go to the polls and vote provisionally. That vote is going to be reviewed, and we’re going to make sure that you haven’t already sent in a mail ballot, but we take those provisional ballots very seriously as we always do in Erie County. We’re going to open those just as we do with every ballot. We’re going to verify those and make sure your vote counts,” Erie County Clerk Karen Chillcott said.
“We’re working collaboratively with the Department of State, the USPS, our mail vendor to try to get some answers, and unfortunately, I just can’t apologize enough, even though this is not our fault that this has happened, we feel terrible that the voters are in this situation, and we want to do everything we can to make that right,” Chillcott said.
Chillcott had also said the county was not responsible for the mix-up in sending voters two ballots when they wanted one.
The printer the county used had a software glitch that put ballots in incorrect envelopes, she said, according to Go Erie.
