Candidates sue after Pennsylvania county sent hundreds of ballots to wrong address

Two candidates running for office in Pennsylvania are suing after a vendor hired by Delaware County sent 670 ballots for Tuesday’s election to the wrong voters’ addresses, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Michael Puppio, a lawyer representing Republican city council candidates Frank Agovino and Joseph Lombardo, requested an emergency hearing to find out how widespread the issue is, the Inquirer reported.

In his petition, Puppio argued that the error placed “the integrity of the municipal election … at stake.”

The county admitted to its mistake of sending out the ballots incorrectly, according to the Inquirer. The mailing addresses did not match the voter information on the ballot inside the envelope, which caused people to receive another person’s ballot. 

Delaware County is seeking to rectify the issue by identifying the flawed ballots and doling out new ballots.

Puppio’s lawsuit alleges that ElectionIQ, the vendor Delaware County hired to administer the ballots, has not been “forthcoming” in regards to “the extent of their errors,” the Inquirer reported.

Puppio is seeking more assuredness as the election nears, stating in the lawsuit that “if an immediate hearing is not held to determine the extent, if we are able to at this late date … the validity of the municipal election on November 2, 2021 is in jeopardy.”

A Delaware County spokesperson stated that he was aware of complaints, but could not comment on the lawsuit, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Howard Gartland, chairman of Radnor Township Republican Party, said he has gotten complaints from voters over the incorrect ballots, which he passed along to county officials.

Delaware County Director of Elections James Allen told the Inquirer that “none of the mistakenly mailed ballots would be valid.”

“This isn’t a partisan matter,” Puppio said to the Inquirer, referencing recent scandals in election integrity. “I’m not saying that anyone at the Delaware County bureau of elections misled anyone, said anything intentionally incorrect, or that there’s any nefarious behavior going on.”

This debacle in Pennsylvania comes as the country grapples with nationwide skepticism over election integrity spurred by former President Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. 

The Hill reached out to ElectionIQ but did not immediately hear back.