FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 12, 2026
(SCRANTON, PA) — A Korean War veteran from Scranton has filed suit against Lackawanna County Board of Elections, Lackawanna Department of Elections, and Lackawanna County Director of Elections and Voter Registration Elizabeth Hopkins, after they disenfranchised him during the 2025 Primary Election.
“Pennsylvanians are tired of predictably ham-fisted election administration that harms our faith that our elections will be conducted fairly and accurately,” said Linda Kerns, election law attorney representing the plaintiff. “We are bringing this lawsuit because apparently Pennsylvania election officials have not suffered enough embarrassment or felt compelled to take appropriate corrective measures following various election disgraces in recent years.”
Lackawanna County election officials admitted to mailing incorrect absentee and mail-in ballots to nearly 550 voters living in Scranton ahead of the 2025 Primary Election, while “voters residing in other municipalities within Lackawanna County received the correct ballots.”
Furthermore, elections director Elizabeth Hopkins revealed in media interviews that she was not aware of the incorrect ballots until April 26, 2025, when voters who had received the misprinted ballots began contacting her office.
Hopkins’ admission also reveals that her office shockingly did not proofread or conduct simple, commonsense quality control checks before allowing ballots to be mailed, as required under Pennsylvania Election Code.
Despite public promises to the contrary and personal contact by the plaintiff, Hopkins and her election staff failed to provide the proper ballot in time for the plaintiff to vote in the May 20 Primary Election, making the 2025 Primary Election the first election in which he made the appropriate effort and was not able to vote—including while serving in the military overseas.
“Every eligible Pennsylvania voter, Republican, Democrat or otherwise, should have the opportunity to cast a ballot in an election appropriately administered according to the law, but that didn’t happen in Lackawanna County,” continued Kerns. “It’s long past time Pennsylvania takes our electoral process more seriously, holds bad actors accountable, and ensures that the law is enforced to prevent any disenfranchisement in the future.”
From the complaint:
“Specifically, Defendants’ official policy to fail to proofread and to confirm the accuracy of all mail-in and absentee ballot styles prior to delivering said ballots to voters denied and severely burdened Plaintiff’s right to vote…”
“Likewise, the Defendant’s official policy to fail to respond adequately upon discovery of the incorrect ballots such that voters did not receive the correct ballots denied and severely burdened Plaintiff’s right to vote.”
“Defendant’s wholly inadequate election administration policies subjected Plaintiff’s access to the ballot to wholly arbitrary, capricious, and standardless treatment in violation of the substantive Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Elizabeth Hopkins remains in her position as Lackawanna County Director of Elections and Voter Registration and has so far demonstrated no evidence that measures have been taken to alleviate the likelihood that similar ballot misprints may occur in this year’s midterm elections.
“Pennsylvania’s track record is abysmal. Lackawanna County election officials sent 2024 ballots for a 2025 election to voters in Scranton and officials in Luzerne County apparently forgot to stock ballot paper for an entire Election Day in dozens of precincts in 2022,” concluded Kerns. “Chester County distributed pollbooks missing the names of independent and third-party voters in 2025, causing chaos. It’s well past the time to make sure there are fully trained, capable, and trustworthy adults running Pennsylvania election offices in 2026.”
The Center for Election Confidence (CEC) is supporting this lawsuit in accordance with its mission to safeguard the right of all eligible Americans, regardless of party affiliation, to take part in the electoral process and to have confidence in America’s election systems and election results.