Letter to the editor: Consistency needed in ballot counting

Let me start by saying I am against no- reason mail-in voting. My feeling is that a perfectly healthy person should not be too lazy to go vote in person. Covid fear was no excuse, because many people stood in line longer than most polling places just to turn in their ballots.

I also do not believe there was widespread voter fraud. We were bombarded with ads to vote by mail, very clearly outlining the requirements and stating that if they were not followed, votes would not count.

I believe the whole problem was certain districts choosing to ignore the requirements and count improperly signed or dated ballots and when challenged, judges ruled in their favor, stating that a voter should not be disenfranchised over a minor error. Remember the Brewster-Ziccarelli contest decided by a few votes? Allegheny County decided to count mail-in ballots from people who had neglected to write the date on the back of the mailing envelope; Westmoreland chose not to count such ballots. Brewster won by a narrow margin.

We cannot have this happening again. We need very clear and precise instructions to all vote counters on what is and is not valid, and all must use the same rules. Either these ballots count or they don’t, but it must be consistent or we will continue to hear fraud claims.

Ronald Wylie

Lower Burrell