(RightIsRight.co) – In a bombshell move just weeks before the November elections, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made a decision that will make it possible to discard mail-in ballots that do not have correctly dated return envelopes.
This ruling overturned a state court’s decision from late August that had stopped requiring voters to put accurate, handwritten dates on their mail-in ballots.
The state’s Supreme Court decision was tight, with a 4-3 vote, in which two Democrats and both Republicans on the court agreed to reinstate the dating requirement.
The justices cited a technicality as the basis for their decision by pointing out that the Commonwealth Court did not properly involve all necessary parties.
Specifically, the state court failed to include the county boards of elections from all 67 counties in the state.
They also noted that Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt did not meet the necessary conditions to use the Commonwealth Court’s original jurisdiction.
In his dissent, Justice David Wecht emphasized the urgency and importance of this issue.
“A prompt and definitive ruling on the constitutional question presented in this appeal is of paramount public importance inasmuch as it will affect the counting of ballots in the upcoming general election,” Wecht wrote.
According to The Associated Press, this decision could result in more than 10,000 ballots being discarded in this key swing state due to date inconsistencies.
Last November, ahead of the midterm elections, the same court ruled unanimously that any mail-in or absentee ballots without a date on their return envelopes could not be counted.
Earlier this year, a lawsuit challenged this requirement by arguing it was unenforceable and violated the Pennsylvania Constitution’s Free and Equal Elections clause.
With the presidential election between GOP nominee President Donald Trump and Democrat nominee Kamala Harris looming, this ruling could have significant implications as polls show a tight race in Pennsylvania.
The aftermath of the 2020 election saw the Trump campaign unsuccessfully challenge the state’s election practices, particularly around “ballot curing,” a method that allows voters to correct errors on their mail-in ballots.
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