Overseas US Voters Seek Election Rule Changes After Eligibility Challenges Are Withdrawn

US citizens residing in London and other parts of Europe have urged changes to election rules following the submission of thousands of challenges to their voting eligibility, all of which were subsequently withdrawn or dismissed. According to American legislation, US citizens living abroad are permitted to cast ballots in some US elections based on their last US residency, including voting in the presidential race. Nevertheless, thousands of absentee ballot challenges were filed in Pennsylvania shortly before the deadline, consequently preventing votes from being tallied on election day and necessitating a wait for election board hearings to take place. Rachael Bellis, 37, residing in London, expressed that even though the challenge against her was withdrawn, she believed it to be “unconstitutional” and advocated for reforms to avert “spurious” mass challenges in upcoming elections. Mrs. Bellis, a native of Hershey in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, reported being “stunned” upon receiving an email late Sunday night, prior to the opening of polls, informing her that an unknown local woman had contested her ballot. The BBC reached out to the woman for a statement. Mrs. Bellis reached out to election officials to dispute the challenge and was informed that a mass hearing for over 100 challenges, all filed by the same individual, was scheduled for the subsequent Friday, which meant her vote would remain uncounted until that time. She described the wording in the challenge as “quite distressing” and perceived it as