HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court made a significant ruling on Wednesday, allowing voters whose mail ballots are disqualified for failing to adhere to specific state law protocols to submit provisional ballots. This decision is likely to influence the fate of several mail-in votes that could be rejected during the upcoming fall elections.

In a closely contested 4-3 decision, the court determined that the election board in Butler County, which is predominantly Republican, is required to include the provisional ballots of two voters. These voters had discovered that their mail-in ballots were rendered invalid due to not arriving with the essential secrecy envelopes.

This ruling represents a setback for both the Republican National Committee and the state’s Republican Party, who contended that Butler County had acted correctly in rejecting the provisional ballots that were submitted during the April primary elections.

Secrecy envelopes play a crucial role in ensuring that ballots remain confidential while election officials verify the stamped outer envelopes that contain the complete mailing packets. Furthermore, it is a requirement for voters to sign and date these exterior envelopes. To date, Pennsylvanians have requested over 1.9 million mail ballots for use in the upcoming elections.