U.S. election: American citizen living in Ontario has ballot challenged for 1st time

An American national surviving successful Kingston, Ont., says her mail-in ballot is being challenged, and she’s not alone.

Ellen Turcotte is simply a semi-retired English teacher who has voted successful each U.S. election since turning 18 implicit 50 years ago.

“I person not taken this close to ballot for granted, but it surely has deed maine smack successful the look close present that we can’t instrumentality thing for granted, and that is our close successful a democracy. We person to support them. We perfectly person to support them,” Turcotte said.

Despite moving to Canada implicit 45 years ago, getting joined and starting a household here, she is lone a imperishable nonmigratory and maintains her U.S. citizenship arsenic her lone citizenship.

She says she has ne'er had an contented voting successful her location authorities of Pennsylvania done mail-in ballot until now.

“My ballot was received implicit a period ago. On Saturday morning, I received an email informing maine that my absentee ballot has been challenged,” she says.

She says the email she received said she was not a registered elector and did not unrecorded successful the state, making her ineligible to vote.

“I americium registered to vote, and I americium an American citizen,” she says.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania’s ineligible director, citizenship gives Americans the state to vote, whether they unrecorded present oregon abroad.

Witold Walczak says a national instrumentality passed astir 40 years agone enshrined that close for each surviving abroad. Those surviving overseas permanently tin ballot successful national elections. The spot of residency they usage is their past known U.S. address.

According to the ACLU, Turcotte is not unsocial successful having her ballot challenged.

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The enactment reports that astir 3,600 overseas voters who registry to ballot successful Pennsylvania person had the validity of their ballot challenged.

“Election deniers crossed Pennsylvania person submitted thousands of wide challenges to overseas voters due to the fact that they privation to artifact arsenic galore ballots arsenic imaginable and soundlessness our voices,” said Deborah Hinchey, the Pennsylvania authorities manager of All Voting is Local.

Turcotte has emailed a situation to the Board of Voter Services successful Pennsylvania asserting that she is an American national and a registered voter.

She says she is assured her ballot volition beryllium counted but says what’s happening present sends an important connection astir the request to vote.

“I consciousness it’s important for everyone present successful Canada to cognize what’s happening. I’m not the lone American who is going to person occupation with this predetermination having our ballot heard. Living successful a ideology and having the close to ballot is precise important to maine and should beryllium important to Canadians, not conscionable to instrumentality this for granted,” Turcotte said.

“I privation to marque definite that different Americans surviving successful Canada who are undecided astir voting, please, each ballot does count, particularly successful this election.”