In the lead-up to the May 20 primary election, a significant ballot printing error in Cambria County has prompted Commonwealth Court judicial candidate Josh Prince to file an emergency petition, seeking to ensure accurate election administration and protect the voting process.
Prince, a constitutional attorney, took action following the confirmation by Cambria County officials that approximately 2,000 Republican mail-in ballots were printed with the names of the two candidates for Commonwealth Court – Prince and Matt Wolford – listed in the incorrect order. This error directly contradicts the certified ballot sequence.
According to a press release issued by Prince’s campaign on Monday, the Department of State had identified this very issue during a routine review of sample ballots in April. Despite assurances from Cambria County that the error had been rectified, the flawed ballots were reportedly mailed to voters starting on May 7.
“It is deeply concerning that this known error was allowed to persist,” stated Prince. “The people of Pennsylvania deserve full confidence in the electoral process. When the integrity of the ballot is compromised, the legitimacy of the election itself is called into question.”
Prince’s emergency petition, filed with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, requests immediate judicial intervention and relief. Specifically, the petition asks the Court to ensure a secure process for segregating and reviewing any returned ballots from the incorrect batch, to order a manual count of these ballots with representation from both campaigns to guarantee transparency and accuracy, and to prevent Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt from certifying the Primary results until the Court has had the opportunity to review any objections raised by either campaign regarding the flawed ballots.
“Election integrity is not a partisan issue. It’s a constitutional one,” Prince emphasized in his press release. “I am not seeking special treatment—I am seeking a fair and lawful process. The voters deserve to know that their voice will be counted and counted correctly, regardless of their vote.”
The error was initially brought to light by the Department of State following routine Logic and Accuracy Testing of the ballots, according to WJAC. The county solicitor, Ronald Repak, stated that the error, involving the flipped order of Republican candidates Matt Wolford and Josh Prince, was supposedly corrected after the Department of State’s initial notification in April. However, the same error reappeared when mail-in ballots were sent out the week of May 12th. Repak indicated that any ballots mailed from the courthouse after Wednesday of that week should be correct.
Representative Frank Burns had also criticized Cambria County election officials for this printing error, describing it as a repeat incompetence that undermines voter confidence, even if less severe than previous issues in November, as noted by WJAC.
The situation in Cambria County is not an isolated incident. In Lackawanna County, as reported by WVIA, a similar error occurred where 545 Republican voters in Scranton were mistakenly mailed ballots from the 2024 primary election. County officials attributed this mistake to a printing company error and assured voters that corrected ballots would be mailed.
The Commonwealth Court will now consider Prince’s petition as the May 20 primary election approaches.
