Major ruling on mail-in ballots
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A federal appeals court ruled that mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania without accurate handwritten dates on envelopes are invalid, overturning a previous decision.
Under state law
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Under state law, mail-in voters must write the date on envelopes to make their vote effective.
Impact this year’s elections
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The ruling will impact this year’s elections in the important swing state of Pennsylvania.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
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“The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania unanimously held this ballot-casting rule is mandatory; thus, failure to comply renders a ballot invalid under Pennsylvania law,” Judge Thomas Ambro wrote.
Integrity issues
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Republicans say the mail-in process raises integrity issues while Democrats argue it increases access and convenience.
Democrats
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Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to vote by mail in Pennsylvania.
Determining who may vote
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The Materiality Provision “only applies when the State is determining who may vote,” Ambro wrote.
Victory for integrity
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The RNC chair said the ruling is a victory for integrity, while civil rights groups argue it could disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters over trivial errors.
Crucial victory
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“This is a crucial victory for election integrity and voter confidence in the Keystone State and nationwide,” Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley stated.
Unlawful attempts
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“Pennsylvanians deserve to feel confident in the security of their mail ballots, and this Third Circuit ruling roundly rejects unlawful left-wing attempts to count undated or incorrectly dated mail ballots.”
Lose their vote
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“If this ruling stands, thousands of Pennsylvania voters could lose their vote over a meaningless paperwork error,” Pennsylvania ACLU executive director Mike Lee said.
Ballots in question
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“The ballots in question in this case come from voters who are eligible and who met the submission deadline. In passing the Civil Rights Act, Congress put a guardrail in place to be sure that states don’t erect unnecessary barriers that disenfranchise voters. It’s unfortunate that the court failed to recognize that principle,” he said.
In 2022
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In 2022, over 7,600 mailed ballots were rejected due to missing or incorrect envelope dates in 12 counties.
