America First Legal sues another Pennsylvania county over ‘illegal drop box scheme’

by Summer Lane

Photo: Alamy

America First Legal (AFL) is bringing a second lawsuit against the Board of Elections in Chester County, Pennsylvania, citing serious complaints about ballot drop boxes that have been approved for use in elections.

According to a press release from AFL, the lawsuit seeks to “compel their immediate compliance with Pennsylvania’s election laws in connection with ballot drop boxes in Chester County.”

Per AFL, the Pennsylvania Election Code requires both mailed or absentee ballots to be returned via mail or in-person by the voter whose name is on the ballot itself. “In other words, one person can only drop off one ballot in a drop box, and multiple ballots deposited into the drop box render them invalid,” AFL said in their statement.

The AFL’s official complaint included an example of the Board of Elections’ inclusion of specific rules attached to returning ballots.

For example:

  • “You must return your own ballot,
  • You are prohibited from delivering or returning anyone else’s ballot, even if that person is your spouse, parent, child, grandparent, other relative, neighbor or friend,
  • If a voter has a disability or is voting by emergency absentee ballot, the voter may have someone deliver their ballot, only if both parties have signed an official written authorization.”

The AFL’s complaint stated that during the 2022 primary election in May, the Board of Elections in Chester County authorized 13 drop boxes. However, AFL alleged that two of the 13 boxes were not properly staffed and therefore were out of compliance.

“Those boxes were monitored with security cameras,” their statement revealed, “and the footage captured revealed a shocking and brazen breach of the Election Code: over 330 individuals depositing void, invalid, or multiple ballots all at once.”

13 drop boxes have also been approved for use in the upcoming November midterms. They further disclosed that the AFL’s complaint seeks to stop the Election Board from “accepting, counting, or canvassing any ballots that contravene the lawful use of drop boxes…”

The president of America First Legal, Stephen Miller, commented on the lawsuit in an official statement:

“This is our second lawsuit in 15 days in Pennsylvania, suing election officials for their lawless conduct and egregious violation of Americans’ sacred right to ensure their vote is not canceled out by fraud and criminal activity.”

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