Based on error rates in previous elections, that could mean more than 100,000 mail-in ballots are at risk, according to Philadelphia city commissioner Lisa Deeley.
She argued that the requirement could cause the state to be the “subject of significant post-election legal controversy, the likes of which we have not seen since Florida in 2000.”
“I hope you consider this letter as me being a canary in the coal mine,” Deeley wrote.
Cutler spokesman Mike Straub said there’s no plan to change the requirement.
“The Supreme Court was very, very clear in their ruling that the secrecy envelopes served an important purpose in ensuring the confidentiality of every ballot,” said Straub. “The court has really made that official. We really don’t have any plans to take that up again.”
There is no process for fixing ballots that arrive without the secrecy sleeves, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar’s office said Tuesday.
Boockvar plans to issue updated guidance on naked ballots, according to communications director Wanda Murren.
“The guidance on naked ballots was removed from our website immediately after the ruling Thursday, and counties were notified that it was withdrawn,” Murren said Tuesday.
