On Friday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that mail ballots must include a proper date on their return envelopes to be valid, potentially affecting thousands of voters this November. This decision vacated an earlier ruling from August 30 by the Commonwealth Court, which had found the state’s dating requirement to be an unconstitutional violation of voters’ rights.
The Court’s ruling was based on jurisdictional grounds, which determined that the Commonwealth Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction due to the failure to name the county boards of elections of all 67 counties.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Public Interest Law Center brought the original suit on behalf of several leftist “voting rights” groups. They argued the dating requirement imposed by Act 77, the state’s mail voting law established in 2020, violated the free and equal elections clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution. This clause mandates that elections must be free and equal, with no power allowed to interfere with the right to vote.
Previously, a Commonwealth Court panel had agreed with the plaintiffs, ruling that rejecting properly cast but undated ballots would infringe on the fundamental right to vote. Judge Ellen Ceisler, writing for the majority, emphasized that such a refusal was legally unjustifiable.
Non-compliance could lead to the rejection of thousands of ballots, as witnessed during the April primary, where about 4,400 were rejected over dating issues.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley hailed the decision as crucial for election integrity in Pennsylvania, a critical state for the upcoming elections.
