PA Gov. Tom Wolf’s Wife Dropped Off his Mail Ballot, Violating State Election Law
by Gant Team Thursday, November 4, 2021
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday revealed his wife, First Lady Frances Wolf, dropped his mail ballot off for him, a violation of Pennsylvania election law.
State law currently prohibits, in most cases, anyone other than the voter from returning a mail ballot, an act punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
On the “KDKA Radio Morning Show,” host Kevin Battle asked Wolf if he visited the polls to vote in person during Tuesday’s municipal election.
“I didn’t show up in person at the polls. We voted a couple weeks ago, actually,” Wolf said. “My wife actually dropped it off personally two weeks ago, so it’s there.”
Wolf did not say where his wife dropped off his ballot. Elizabeth Rementer, a spokesperson for Wolf, said only “it was an honest mistake.”
Pennsylvania law does allow voters with disabilities who aren’t able to return their own ballot to designate someone else to do it for them. A voter can also designate a representative to return an emergency absentee ballot.
But in all other cases, voters have to mail or bring their ballot to an elections office, satellite location, or drop box themselves.
Kyle King — a spokesperson for the district attorney in York County, where Wolf lives — said as a general policy, the office does not comment on the existence of an investigation. He also would not say whether the office had received a complaint about how Wolf voted.
The violation came to light after state Rep. Seth Grove (R., York), who leads the state House committee that considers election issues, pointed the interview out on Twitter.