Left-leaning groups and voting rights advocates are urging the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to intervene and prevent counties from discarding potentially thousands of mail-in ballots for the upcoming November election. Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground state that is anticipated to have a significant impact on the outcome of the presidential race.
The lawsuit, submitted directly to the state’s highest court, aims to prevent counties from rejecting mail-in ballots due to incorrect or missing dates on the ballot envelopes. This legal action comes as mail-in voting is commencing in the state and marks the third election-related case currently under review by the state Supreme Court.
State law in Pennsylvania mandates that voters must date and sign their mail-in ballots. However, numerous ballots have been deemed invalid because they lacked a valid date since the state significantly expanded mail-in voting in a 2019 law. The plaintiffs argue that courts have ruled that a voter-written date does not impact the timeliness of the ballot’s arrival or the voter’s eligibility, asserting that denying a ballot based on a missing or incorrect date infringes upon the Pennsylvania Constitution’s provision for free and fair elections.
Democrats, including Governor Josh Shapiro, are supporting the plaintiffs, among whom are organizations like the Black Political Empowerment Project, Make the Road Pennsylvania, and League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. Republicans, on the other hand, argue that the requirement for a date on the ballot serves as an electoral safeguard and accuse Democrats of attempting to alter election regulations at the eleventh hour.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, comprised of five Democratic and two Republican justices, holds a pivotal role in resolving election disputes in the lead-up to the presidential election, similar to its involvement in the 2020 election. Mail-in voting issues have become highly partisan, with a significant proportion of such ballots in Pennsylvania being cast by Democrats. The justice have yet to vote on the case filed on Wednesday.
Last week, the Republican National Committee and the state Republican Party presented another case to the court, seeking clarity on issues related to mail-in ballots. The GOP’s lawsuit calls for restrictions on counties informing voters of potential ballot rejection and opposes allowing voters to rectify errors or cast provisional ballots. Conversely, Democratic-controlled counties typically provide more assistance to voters to address ballot errors, potentially impacting the overall vote count in the upcoming election.
The ongoing legal battles underscore the contentious nature of mail-in voting regulations and the intense scrutiny surrounding election procedures in Pennsylvania. The decisions made by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in these cases could have far-reaching implications for the November election in the state.