County commissioners asked to change notification process for mail-in ballots

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Lebanon County Commissioners were asked Thursday, March 19, to consider changing the timing of the notification process for voters whose mail-in ballots contain an error.

South Annville Township resident Michael Schroeder asked commissioners, in their roles as Board of Elections directors, if they would instruct Voter Registration officials to segregate ballots with visible mistakes on the outer return envelope.

Those voters would be contacted immediately instead of on Election Day, which is when mail-in ballots are processed in Lebanon County.  

There were 60 mail-in ballots of the approximate 9,000 received in the November 2025 general election that contained one or more mistakes, according to an ACLU letter supplied by the organization to Lebanon County solicitor Matt Bugli. Of those 60, only six provisional ballots were cast in the last election, or 10%, by voters whose mail-in ballot contained an error. 

“Try to contact those voters in the days before Election Day so those voters have a chance to cast a provisional ballot and have their vote count,” Schroeder wrote in an email to commissioners, which he sent in advance of the meeting and forwarded to LebTown. “Have the elections office set aside mail-in ballots containing mistakes so that those voters who make an error can have an opportunity to cast a provisional ballot.”

The requested notification process is currently being employed in a majority of Pennsylvania counties, added Schroeder.  

“This is basically giving voters a chance to correct any honest mistakes that they make when they mail in their ballots. Either there’s a missing signature, or there’s a missing date, or there’s something wrong with the secrecy envelope,” Schroeder said. “Out of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania, my understanding is about 54 of them have a procedure whereby they separate those ballots that have a visible mistake. They segregate them and put them in a separate pile. And then try to notify those voters to tell them there’s something wrong with their ballots and they can then cast a provisional ballot.”

Schroeder noted county voting officials could use the state’s SURE voter system to notify voters about their mistake or possibly find another solution via a “simple fix.” 

“My hope is that the Voter Registration Office can develop and implement a simple fix to this problem so that everyone who’s legally entitled to vote and mails in their ballot has their vote count — including voters who make a simple mistake like failing to sign or put the date on the outer return envelope,” he wrote in an email. “A simple fix along these lines would be wholly consistent with both the spirit and the letter of the 2025 PA Supreme Court decision in Center for Coalfield Justice v. Washington County Board of Elections, as explained in the attached letter.”

The ACLU letter says the Lebanon County election office has attempted to notify voters of such mistakes only beginning on Election Day during the last three election cycles, even though it could do so using the commonwealth’s SURE voter registration system codes immediately upon receipt of mail-in ballot packets.

It also states, “As a result, affected voters receive mere hours of notice — if any — that they will have no vote counted unless they cast a provisional ballot at their precinct.” 

The letter further states that, “This procedure does not provide Lebanon County mail-in voters with constitutionally adequate pre-deprivation notice, as required by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Center for Coalfield Justice v. Washington County Board of Elections, 343 A.3d 1178 (Pa. 2025) (“CCJ”).”

The ACLU also urges Lebanon County to bring “its policy and practice into compliance with that ruling in time for the May 2026 Primary Election.”

“By entering SURE system codes immediately upon receipt of a defective mail-in ballot packet — as the overwhelming majority of Pennsylvania counties now do — Lebanon County will timely notify affected electors of their right to cast a provisional ballot in time to salvage their right to vote,” the letter states.

“We just want every Lebanon County who has the right to vote to have a chance to cast their vote in an election,” Schroeder told LebTown after the meeting.

Commissioner Bob Phillips, chairman of the elections board, said the item would be added to the April 2 agenda for the next board meeting. 

“If it’s as simple as you suggest, then it’ll be given a fair hearing. I can guarantee you that,” Phillips said.

Commissioner Mike Kuhn reiterated what Schroeder said was fine work by the county election staff.

“We have a great amount of faith that, as a matter of fact, back to our last public meeting, comments were made about questioning (voter) integrity. I don’t think anybody has ever questioned our people. It takes good leadership. We have that in Sean. And it takes a lot of really good people. And I know we’re all very proud of the results we get in Lebanon County in that regard,” Kuhn said.

Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz asked why commissioners couldn’t decide the issue immediately instead of waiting until April 2. Phillips replied that time is needed to investigate solutions, and he preferred to discuss it then since the elections board would be convening on that date.

“I don’t understand the delay. It doesn’t seem like we should delay decisions on the election. Then we’ll be doing what we accused the state of doing by waiting till the last minute to inform us on the elections,” Litz said.

“Often we’re told we need to do our due diligence,” Phillips responded. “I think it should be, you know, given time to study it and get an answer and then come back April 2nd. That’s my opinion”  

“I’d also like to get input from Sean about the logistics within his office to be able to handle it appropriately and with integrity,” added Kuhn.

The Lebanon County Elections Board typically conducts meetings immediately following commissioners’ meetings, the next of which will also be held on April 2. Both meetings are open to the public, with the commissioners meeting beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Room 207 of the Lebanon County municipal building, 400 S. 8th St., Lebanon.