Pennsylvania Supreme Court Makes Huge Ruling Regarding Mail-In Ballots

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed a previous ruling last week, determining that mail-in ballots missing dates or containing incorrect dates on their outer envelopes cannot be counted. This marks a major win for those advocating for election integrity.

In a 4-3 decision, the state's highest court ruled that the lower court, which had previously deemed the date requirement unenforceable, should not have heard the case in the first place. The Associated Press reported that the case only involved two counties—Philadelphia and Allegheny—rather than all 67 Pennsylvania counties, which are responsible for election administration.

The Commonwealth Court had earlier paused the enforcement of requiring handwritten dates on the envelopes of mail-in ballots. However, with the Supreme Court’s reversal, thousands of timely-arriving ballots could now be disqualified, potentially impacting the outcome of a tightly contested presidential race in this key swing state. Mail-in voting is more prevalent among Democrats in Pennsylvania compared to Republicans.

Republican groups, who had appealed the decision, celebrated the ruling as a victory for election transparency and security. This decision is also seen as a boost for former President Donald Trump, who narrowly lost Pennsylvania to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley called it a significant victory for election integrity, stating that it would "protect commonsense mail ballot safeguards and help voters cast their ballots with confidence."

The court’s decision comes just ahead of Pennsylvania’s voter registration deadline on Monday, October 21. State officials reminded residents that they need to be registered by then if they plan to vote in this year’s elections.

Meanwhile, attorneys representing the ten left-leaning organizations that filed the lawsuit indicated that the ruling could lead to further legal challenges.

“Thousands of voters could see their ballots rejected in November over a simple mistake,” said Mimi McKenzie, legal director of the Public Interest Law Center in Philadelphia. She urged voters to carefully follow the instructions for submitting mail-in ballots to avoid having them disqualified for minor paperwork errors.

The court's ruling saw two Democratic appointees joining two Republican appointees in the majority decision.

The lawsuit, initially filed in May, argued that enforcing the date requirement violated a state constitutional provision that guarantees elections are “free and equal,” according to the AP.

Recent Pennsylvania election data suggests that over 10,000 ballots could be rejected due to missing or incorrect dates in this year’s general election, which could play a pivotal role in the presidential race. With 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is the largest swing state prize, making this issue especially significant.

Historically, Pennsylvania has disqualified ballots with missing or incorrect dates, such as those in the future or from before the mail-in ballots were printed. While state law requires dates on envelopes, election officials do not rely on them to determine whether a ballot arrived on time. Instead, ballots are logged and timestamped upon receipt, and they must be delivered to county election offices by the close of polls on Election Day, AP reported.

Last month, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, issued an executive order requiring all ballots for the 2024 presidential election to be paper-based, a move former President Donald Trump praised. However, the Biden-Harris Justice Department quickly sued, arguing that federal law prohibits implementing such changes so close to an election.