Five Pennsylvanian congressmen have requested that the state establish a process for verifying voter registration when casting ballots outside of the status.
On behalf of Republican Reps, the case was filed this week in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, Glenn” G. T”. Thompson, Lloyd Smucker, and Mike Kelly against the Pennsylvania Department of State, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt, and Jonathan Marks, assistant director for elections and profits for Pennsylvania.
Members of the military and non-military U.S. citizens living abroad can receive a ballot and cast a ballot anywhere in the world under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act ( UOCAVA ).
UOCAVA voters can use the Federal Postcard Application ( FPCA ) as a ballot request and voter registration form online. A state-issued vehicle’s passport or identification number are required as well as a Social Security number. To confirm that a vote is a real person, state data is matched with this knowledge.  ,
However, a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of State states that counties ca n’t reject voter registrations from UOCAVA voters simply because the numbers provided on their applications do n’t match state database numbers. The position tells districts they “must” take UOCAVA programs, even if the pilot’s license or previous four of the Social Security number never be matched.
The state might send ballots to fictitious people or those who are ineligible to vote without verifying voter information. The rule makes a situation vulnerable where bad actors could cast additional ballots.
” Plaintiffs who are congressional candidates in the 2024 election, are forced to participate in Pennsylvania’s illegally structured federal election process”, the filing by the Election Research Institute reads. The Commonwealth’s practice is an illegally organized election process that makes Pennsylvania’s elections vulnerable to ineligible votes by people or organizations who purport to be UOCAVA-eligible, register to vote without identity verification or eligibility verification, but receive a ballot via email, and then cast a ballot without providing identification at any point in the process.
Attorney Erick G. Kaardal claims that state guidance conflicts with federal law. According to the Help America Vote Act ( HAVA ), states must satisfy minimum standards for all candidates for voter registration before granting them UOCAVA voting privileges. They must provide verification of identity.
According to court documents,” Defendants may not create a directive that conflicts with UOCAVA and HAVA, which are both Congressional enactments.”
The Pennsylvania Department of State requested an explanation of the justification for county officials ‘ recommendation to exempt UOCAVA ballot candidates from any verification requirements as well as how the department protects against ineligible voters without verifying their address and identification. It did not respond.
UOCAVA voting played a role in the 2020 election. The case cites a report from the U. S. Election Assistance Commission that says in 2020, the state received approximately 27, 000 ballots through UOCAVA, with approximately 20, 000 of those ballots coming from non-military applicants.
According to court documents, more than 25 000 UOCAVA ballots have already been sent to potentially unverified UOCAVA applicants since 2024, according to the Department of State Absentee and Mail Ballot Report.
The congressmen requested that the state give counties the authority to check voters ‘ identities before counting UOCAVA ballots. Additionally, they requested that the court order counties to segregate 2024 UOCAVA ballots until the identity of the voters can be verified.
According to court documents,” the candidates ‘ forced participation in the illegal election structure regarding absentee voters and the tally of those votes may not accurately reflect the legally valid votes cast.” A false count of votes is a direct and particular injury to the candidates running for office.
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Beth Brelje covers The Federalist’s elections coverage. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.