Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules mail ballots with incorrect dates won't be counted [View all]
Source: NBC News
Sept. 13, 2024, 5:59 PM EDT
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Friday that mail ballots that are improperly dated won't be counted in November, a move that could have major implications in the closely divided battleground state. The decision reverses a lower court ruling from last month that found it was unconstitutional to reject mail ballots that had a missing or incorrect date.
The bureaucratic requirements of ballots in Pennsylvania have long been the subject of litigation, with opponents of the date requirements arguing that they unnecessarily disenfranchise eligible voters. A group of voting rights advocates went to court in May seeking to block the provision, which required election officials to reject ballots that were incorrectly dated, even if the ballot reached them by the statutory deadline of 8 p.m. on Election Day.
The Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania Republican Party stepped in to support of the date provision, arguing it was important to election integrity. Their appeal of the Commonwealth Court's ruling from two weeks ago was successful on Friday.
Democrats have utilized mail voting more heavily than Republicans in recent elections in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/pennsylvania-supreme-court-mail-ballots-incorrect-dates-rcna170819
As a note - even with Democrats using these "no excuse absentee ballots" more than Republicans, they were only utilized by about 1/3rd of our voters. MOST people still go "in person" on election day to vote (and that includes Democrats).
The last mail ballot I did for this year's primary had a redesigned back of the envelope that was WAY clearer on what needed to be filled out, so hopefully that will help to a degree.
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