Pennsylvania Dem governor Tom Wolf violated state election law, Republican lawmaker says: reports
A GOP-sponsored bill would have made Wolf’s action legal but the Democrat vetoed it earlier this year, a report says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Pennsylvania state lawmaker claims Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf admitted to a violation of the state’s election laws when Wolf spoke during a recent radio interview.
Wolf told Pittsburgh radio station KDKA-AM last week that his wife, Pennsylvania first lady Frances Wolf, dropped off his mail-in ballot at a polling station during early voting for the state’s recent elections.
"I didn’t show up in person at the polls," Wolf said, according to the Washington Examiner. "We voted a couple of weeks ago, actually. My wife actually dropped it off personally two weeks ago, so it’s there."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I didn’t show up in person at the polls. We voted a couple of weeks ago, actually. My wife actually dropped it off personally two weeks ago, so it’s there."
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf
But state Rep. Seth Grove, a York County Republican, claimed on Twitter that state law requires voters to drop off their own ballots.
The state law makes exceptions only for voters with disabilities, or those who have expressed in writing that they’ve designated another person to drop off the ballot for them, according to the Examiner.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This is illegal under the election code," Grove wrote about Wolf allowing his wife to drop off his ballot. "BUT would have been legal had he signed HB 1300."
Grove was referring to a bill he sponsored that would have made Wolf’s action legal but the Democrat vetoed it earlier this year, the Examiner reported.
The Republican told Spotlight PA he plans to reintroduce the proposal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Wolf spokeswoman, Elizabeth Rementer, claimed the governor had made "an honest mistake" by having his wife drop off his ballot, according to Spotlight PA.
Grove, while pressing the legal point, said he sympathized with Wolf.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This happens," the Republican told Spotlight PA. "No one is an election law expert, right?"
"We get it. It’s convenient for a spouse to drop off your ballot," he added.
Violators of the state’s election law could face a year in prison and/or a fine up to $1,000, but the York County District Attorney’s Office, which has jurisdiction over the town where Wolf lives and votes, would not comment on whether it was pursuing the matter, Spotllight PA reported.