Voter in Britain 'terrified' by legal battle in US election, as up to 4,000 ballots are disputed in Pennsylvania

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ballots of up to 4,000 people who vote abroad in the US elections are being contested in Pennsylvania, a key battleground.

Among them Selma Aldi, 47, from Camden in the north London who received a letter on Sunday explaining that her ballot was in the US presidential election runs the risk of being rejected.

“It was a shock,” she said. “It was terrifying to be targeted, to potentially lose a right that I consider very important. It is even a feeling of someone questioning my identity.”

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The resident physician, who grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania left America in 2000, but has voted absentee in every US presidential election since.

A letter from Dauphin County election officials outlines the legal challenge. It says: “The applicant is not registered to vote and is therefore not eligible to vote in Pennsylvania.

“Under Pennsylvania law, it is a crime to allow someone who is not registered to vote.”

A hearing on the legal challenge is scheduled for Friday, during which Ms Aldi can respond.

Approximately 2.8 million U.S. citizens living abroad are entitled to vote in elections regardless of where they are on Election Day.

But each state has different procedures and rules about how election papers can be sent and received.

But Ari Savitzky, senior staff attorney at the ACLU, said that “any attempt to challenge voters’ eligibility is a clear violation of their rights.”

He told Sky News: “There have been between 3,000 and 4,000 protests filed in Pennsylvania against the absentee ballots of US citizens living abroad.

“For decades, federal law has guaranteed the right of U.S. citizens living abroad to vote in federal elections in their last U.S. residence.

“These challenges are not only legally baseless, but also constitute abuse for voters and election administrators.”

Deborah Hinchey of another voting rights group, All Voting is Local, said: “Election deniers across Pennsylvania have issued thousands of mass challenges to out-of-state voters.

“They want to block as many ballots as possible and silence our voices… but these baseless challenges have failed before and the right checks and balances are in place to ensure they will fail again,” she added.

Tonight, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote count results from every state, province and demographic across America through its US partner network NBC.

You can find out more about Sky News’ reporting here.