Officials delay mailing ballots

By Mary Grzebieniak

The results of the court cases could change the ballots.

MERCER, Pa. — Officials here are delaying the mailing of absentee ballots while they wait for decisions on two court cases affecting the November election.

Jeff Greenburg, Mercer County director of Registration and Elections, said Wednesday that the ballots are printed and ready to go. But he will wait until the deadline is closer to start mailing them. In the meantime, he hopes the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will make decisions in appeals filed by candidates Steven Porter and Bob Barr.

Porter, who seeks to challenge 3rd District Congressional Republican incumbent Phil English as an independent candidate, was removed from the ballot by an appeals court after some signatures on his nominating petitions were challenged. Barr is running for president as a Libertarian.

Lawsuits affecting both candidates’ right to appear on the November ballot are pending but there’s no saying when a decision will be made. Before the appeal to the state Supreme Court, a lower court removed Porter from the ballot but allowed Barr to remain. As a result, the ballots were printed with Barr’s name but not with Porter’s. The ballots could require changing if the high court overturns either ruling.

In the meantime, Mercer County officials are uneasily watching the calendar, aware that the law requires them to send out the absentee ballots by Oct. 21 — whether or not the court has made a decision.

Greenburg said he doesn’t know what he will do if the court orders the ballot to be changed. But he said there is a possibility that the ballot would have to be reprinted and resent.

Approximately 1,400 absentee ballots have already been applied for in Mercer County. In November 2004, there were 3,300 absentee ballots cast here.

In Lawrence County, where only the Barr case could affect the ballot, a spokeswoman said absentee ballots are being sent out.

Voters can still apply for absentee ballots until Oct. 28 and must return them to their respective courthouse by 5 p.m. Oct. 31.

Greenburg stated that military and overseas ballots have already been sent out in order to comply with the legal deadline.

The electronic ballot which most voters will use is not a problem, he said, because it can be quickly changed even days before the election.