PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Republican state lawmakers are pouncing on Gov. Tom Wolf after he told a KYW Newsradio sister station that his wife dropped off his mail-in ballot.
During an interview earlier this week with Pittsburgh's KDKA Radio Morning Show host Kevin Battle, Wolf said his wife, Frances, dropped off his mail-in ballot for Tuesday's election, despite a state law requirement that says voters must deliver their own ballots in person.
“My wife actually dropped it off personally two weeks ago,” Wolf said, which you can listen to, in part, in the player below. “It’s there.”
Wolf spokesperson Beth Rementer called it an "honest mistake."
State law requires voters who do not mail their absentee or mail-in ballot to deliver it in person to their county board of election, though with pre-approval, others can do it under certain circumstances. Those rules wouldn’t apply in Wolf’s case.
Wolf’s comments got legs after Republican state Rep. Seth Grove tweeted out the interview.
Grove authored a sweeping election reform bill that passed the General Assembly but was vetoed by Wolf earlier this year. Wolf expressed concerns the bill made it harder for people to vote.
In his tweet, Grove points out his legislation would have made it legal for family members to turn in each other’s ballots.
Mishandling ballots could carry jail time and a fine, but the York County District Attorney’s Office wouldn’t say whether or not it is investigating.