The Commonwealth Court has decided that a vote doesn’t count if the official in charge makes a mistake, not the voter, the official. Our founding fathers turned over in their graves last week. It seems ironic that a town that was first inhabited by French and Indian War era settlers and later owned by Revolutionary War soldiers would be responsible for denying a vote to a soldier.
On its face this decision is wrong but the courts aren’t always right. Sometimes it takes them a few cases to figure things out. However, in the past the courts, including the Commonwealth Court, have addressed absentee ballots with a basic understanding, “The election laws are to be construed liberally so as not to deprive a voter of the right to elect the candidate of his choice.” That seems simple but the courts have gone further and said “The court held that it would not void an absentee ballot that was timely cast based solely on a procedural mistake on the part of the bureau.” Does the Judge of Elections count? It doesn’t seem so; “We will not disenfranchise a voter for an act that may be contrary to procedure for canvassing the vote”, and “the invalidation of a vote is a drastic measure, and will be done only for compelling reasons.”
With all the interpretation from previous courts I have no idea why this court didn’t follow suit. A previous court said; “There was no showing of fraud in the casting of the vote or in the canvassing of it. The absentee ballot was properly completed by an eligible voter. To void this ballot would be to deprive the voter of one of his most fundamental privileges given to him by the U.S. Constitution.”
So, since they have ruled in the past with such lofty and poetic verse why isn’t Walter Daughenbaugh’s vote being counted? I have a solution, when a vote is being taken to use any of Mr. Daughenbaugh’s tax money Ms. Braunlich’s vote shouldn’t count. When any ordinance that is up for consideration that would impact Mr. Daughenbaugh in any manner, Ms. Braunlich’s vote doesn’t count. And that would include the zoning ordinance that Ms. Braunlich negotiated that zoned property for adult businesses near Mr. Daughenbaugh’s home.
It’s bad enough that a citizen’s vote wasn’t counted because of a government employee’s mistake but to deny a soldier’s vote is unconscionable. The Commonwealth Court should hang their heads in shame. Mr. Daughenbaugh, you continue to fight for our country, continue to risk your life for those of us on the home front, continue to defend the Constitution that has been denied to you. It may not have worked this time but I’m guessing that we are on our way to demanding our elected officials recognize how far they have wandered away.
