Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Mail Ballots with Incorrect Dates Won’t Be Counted

In a significant ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided on Friday that mail ballots with incorrect or missing dates will not be counted in the upcoming November elections. This decision, which overturns a previous lower court ruling, could have a major impact in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.

The ruling reverses a decision made last month, which found it unconstitutional to reject ballots based on minor date issues. Opponents of the date requirement, including voting rights advocates, argued that such restrictions needlessly disenfranchise eligible voters. They pointed out that ballots reaching officials by Election Day should be counted, regardless of date discrepancies.

However, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Pennsylvania Republican Party supported the date provision, emphasizing the need for election integrity. Their appeal led to Friday’s decision, with RNC Chairman Michael Whatley hailing the ruling as a "HUGE election integrity win" in a statement on social media.

Implications for Voters and Future Actions
Voting rights groups, including the ACLU and the Public Interest Law Center, expressed disappointment. Steve Loney, an attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said, "This procedural ruling is a setback for Pennsylvania voters," adding that they will continue fighting for voters whose ballots are at risk of being rejected due to trivial errors.

Even small numbers of mail ballot rejections could prove crucial in a state as tightly contested as Pennsylvania. In the 2020 presidential election, President Joe Biden won the state by less than 82,000 votes, and the number of rejected ballots in previous elections, like the recent primary where over 4,400 mail ballots were discarded due to date issues, underscores the importance of every vote.

A Critical Battleground
Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral votes, is once again a pivotal state in the 2024 presidential race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The outcome of this decision could also affect key Senate races, particularly the contest between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick, which could influence which party controls the Senate. With mail voting playing a significant role, particularly for Democrats, this ruling may have far-reaching consequences for both the presidential and Senate races.