The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to review whether counties are required to accept provisional ballots cast by voters on election day at polling locations if their mail-in ballots did not include secrecy envelopes or were rejected for other reasons. This decision could impact the outcome of numerous votes in the upcoming election on Nov. 5, where Pennsylvania plays a crucial role in the presidential race.
The case under consideration stems from a Commonwealth Court ruling that mandated Butler County to count provisional ballots from two voters who had previously been informed that their mail-in ballots were rejected due to being “naked ballots” without the required secrecy envelopes. When these voters attempted to submit provisional ballots, they were turned away by election officials in Butler County, resulting in a legal challenge. While the voters initially lost in the local court, a panel of Commonwealth Court judges later reversed the decision, ordering the two votes to be counted.
This legal dispute is part of a series of lawsuits regarding the validity of Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballots, particularly those that were rejected for not complying with the regulations, such as the handwritten dates on envelope requirements. The appeal to the Supreme Court was filed by the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, who argued against court intervention in the ballot curing process.
The Supreme Court’s decision to take on the case follows a recent ruling overturning a Commonwealth Court decision related to another mail-in ballot issue, allowing counties to enforce the exterior envelope date mandate. The justices will now deliberate on whether counties must count provisional ballots from voters who did not use secrecy envelopes, with a possibility of addressing broader concerns about provisional ballots for voters facing other rejection reasons.
The court has set deadlines for the involved parties, including the GOP entities, the two Butler voters, the state Democratic Party supporting them, and others interested in providing input. Provisional ballots are used when officials need additional time to verify a voter’s eligibility and are typically handled separately from regular ballots.
In Pennsylvania, county officials oversee elections, and it remains uncertain how many of the state’s 67 counties permit voters to replace rejected mail-in ballots with provisional ones. Data from the state elections office shows that approximately 21,800 mail ballots were rejected in the 2020 presidential election out of 2.7 million mail-in ballots submitted statewide.
