PA Republican state senator withdraws challenges to ballot applications in Centre County
A Republican state senator withdrew Tuesday every one of his challenges that sought to toss out the mail ballot applications from dozens of overseas voters, a process that left some upset, stressed and disappointed.
Pennsylvania Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville, withdrew all 77 of his last-minute challenges before the Centre County board of elections could even consider the merits of his argument. The board met Tuesday afternoon and was joined by other local elected officials and voters.
Dush’s challenges targeted “federal voters,” people who are living overseas indefinitely. They may only vote in federal contests such as the presidential race. The challenges alleged applicants were not registered and were therefore not eligible to vote.
Holding what looked like nearly a ream of paper, Centre County elections Director Melanie Bailey told Dush the county had proper documentation for each of the voters. Dush appeared surprised and then withdrew his challenges.
“If you’ve got all that for them, then I can withdraw this,” Dush said as some Democrats in attendance chuckled or shook their heads.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania posted on the social platform X that Dush’s attempt created anxiety for voters and described it as a waste of time.
One voter who had his application challenged said he believed the process demonstrated “how poorly this whole system is working out in the United States.”
Jennifer Haag, a former Centre County resident who lives in Italy, said during the public hearing that she does not “appreciate what this senator has been doing.”
Thomas Bierly, another former Centre County resident who had his application challenged, wrote in an email to the Centre Daily Times that Dush should “view us as assets to Pennsylvania’s future” rather than discouraging civic participation.
Some of the strongest language came from Connor Lewis, president of the Seven Mountains AFL-CIO, who looked at Dush and repeatedly said the challenges were an embarrassment and a disgrace.
“He did not do his due diligence before he wasted taxpayer time and undermined and attacked the very foundations of our democratic process. He did not do his due diligence before doing that,” Lewis said. “As a state senator elected to represent us, Cris Dush went off half-cocked and decided to attack our democracy because he didn’t do his homework.”
It was not clear if the challenges targeted a specific political party. Centre County’s spokesperson said that information was not immediately available.
More than 4,000 challenges were filed in at least 14 of Pennsylvania’s counties, ranging from a dozen in nearby Clinton County to 1,110 in Philadelphia suburb Bucks County.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration had criticized the challenges as mass-produced, bad-faith efforts meant to undermine confidence in the election.
Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, previously said in a statement that people who filed the challenges were either “profoundly ignorant of longstanding law or intent on creating confusion and undermining trust in elections.”
Dush filed his challenges about an hour before the Friday deadline. All three members of Centre County’s board of elections, including Republican Steve Dershem, seemed exasperated that the challenges came at the eleventh hour.
Board Chair Amber Concepcion, a Democrat, also said the challenges have a chilling effect on voters.
A copy of one challenge letter obtained by the CDT included bold lettering that described the potential of years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines for violators of state law.
“I was concerned about the effect particularly on the voters whose votes were being challenged,” Concepcion said. “And that it could create fear that by exercising their Constitutional right to vote that they could somehow accidentally or inadvertently make an error that could land them in legal trouble. I think that’s just not the right way to treat American citizens who are trying to exercise their right to vote.”
Each challenge required a $10 deposit, though it was not clear who paid the county. Dush would only say the challenges were filed by a friend whom he declined to name. He said he planned to reimburse her either personally or through his campaign funds.
Dush also defended waiting until the last minute to file his challenges, saying he waited until the final voter registrations were entered into a state registry. On more than one occasion, Dush also said “we” when discussing the filing of the challenges.
“This is difficult. This is hard,” board member Mark Higgins, a Democrat, said after the hearing. “And when you have people out to break the system when it’s already difficult, well, you heard the comments from the citizens.”
State College Mayor Ezra Nanes offered the most passionate defense of voters during the hearing, saying he received frantic communications from some Centre County residents.
“We are with you. You are a member of this community. You have not been forgotten,” Nanes told those who attended the hearing in-person or via Zoom. “Your voice and your vote count. We are happy that you have been heard today.”
He later added: “I think the impact on our fellow Americans is powerful. I don’t want us to lose the fact that they were hurt by this. The people I had communications from were deeply wounded because they care about this country and this community.”
Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes, the most of the country’s seven battleground states. Democratic President Joe Biden won the state in 2020, defeating Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump by about 80,000 votes.
Polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Those who are in line by that time are eligible to cast their ballot.
“Thank you all for being here to support the democratic process,” Nanes said. “It’s a big day. Let’s all be Americans together and finish this out.”
