In Pennsylvania, mail-in ballots that do not include accurate dates on their return envelopes could be thrown out after the state Supreme Court issued a ruling Friday that could have major implications for the 2024 election.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled on procedural grounds in reversing a lower court decision that found the mandate unenforceable. The state’s highest court ruled that the mandate should not have been ruled on by the lower court as it did not draw in the election boards in all 67 counties.
Left-leaning groups that filed the case only sued election boards in the state’s two most populous counties, Philadelphia and Allegheny.
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Just two weeks ago, Commonwealth Court halted enforcement of date verification on mail-in ballots. Now, with the high court ruling, thousands of ballots in the pivotal swing state could be disqualified if return envelopes contain inaccurate information.
The ruling is likely to affect Democrat vo
ters the most, as Democrats are far more likely to vote by mail in the Keystone State.
Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley praised the ruling as a major victory for election integrity in a press release Friday. “This is a huge win to protect the vote in Pennsylvania that will secure commonsense mail ballot safeguards and help voters cast their ballots with confidence. The Keystone State will be absolutely critical in this election, and the Supreme Court has decided a major victory for election integrity,” Whatley said in a joint statement with RNC co-chair Lara Trump.
The matter may not yet be decided, however, as attorneys representing the plaintiffs hinted at additional legal action aimed at ensuring that inaccurately filled out mail-in ballots are counted.
“Thousands of voters are at risk of having their ballots rejected in November for making a meaningless mistake,” said Mimi McKenzie, legal director of the Public Interest Law Center in Philadelphia. She urged voters to “carefully read
and follow the instructions for submitting a mail-in ballot to reduce the number of ballots being rejected for trivial paperwork errors.”
In the Supreme Court ruling, justices ruled 4-3 in favor of upholding the verification mandate, with two Democrats joining both Republicans on the court to vacate the lower court’s decision.
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