Primary elections were held on Tuesday in five states: Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a printing error wreaked havoc on the counting process for absentee ballots. Penn Live reported:
“Upon opening and scanning the first batch of ballots it became immediately apparent that a significant number of the mail ballots did not scan,” a county press release stated. “Upon further inspection of the ballots, the county identified the ballots were printed by the mail ballot vendor, NPC, with the wrong identification code. This error prevents the ballots from being scanned on the county’s central scanners.”
During an afternoon press conference, a Lancaster County elections official explained that this is not the first time this has happened since the state's controversial Act 77 election law was passed in 2019. Act 77 drastically expanded who could vote by mail in Pennsylvania.
The Lancaster County official continued:
— Lawyers Democracy (@lawyersdf) May 17, 2022
“#Act77 is untenable for us as counties to run continue to elections and not have these problems like this.”https://t.co/VVPSbpdXLM
Act 77 is currently being challenged by local and state Republican officials.
Today's events in Lancaster County illustrate the importance of enacting sound election laws and resolving issues before Election Day. Otherwise, voter confidence in honest and fair elections is at risk.