Key Swing State Supreme Court Rules Mail-in Ballots With Flawed Dates Can Be Tossed
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a ruling Friday that will allow mail-in ballots without accurate dates on their return envelopes to be thrown out.
In late August, a Pennsylvania state court halted the enforcement of requiring voters to include accurate, handwritten dates on submitted mail-in ballots, according to CBS News. However, the state’s Supreme Court, in a 4-3 vote, has now reinstated the requirement as two Democrats on the high court joined both Republicans to vacate the Commonwealth Court decision, according to the court documents.
Within the court filing, Justices Kevin Dougherty, Sallie Updyke Mundy, Kevin Brobson and Daniel McCaffery stated the decision was made after the Commonwealth Court failed to “name the county boards of elections of all 67 counties,” calling out Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt for not meeting the requirements “to invoke the Commonwealth Court’s original jurisdiction.”
With the reversal of the decision, over 10,000 ballots could potentially be tossed within the key swing state due to expected discrepancies on the envelopes regarding the date, according to The Associated Press. Justice David Wecht, within his dissent, stated, “A prompt and definitive ruling on the constitutional question presented in this appeal is of paramount public importance inasmuch as it will affect the counting of ballots in the upcoming general election.”
In November 2022, the state’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that mail-in or absentee ballots lacking a date on their return envelopes are invalid, prior to the midterm elections at the time. (Read more from “Key Swing State Supreme Court Rules Mail-in Ballots With Flawed Dates Can Be Tossed” HERE)
