Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules to Disqualify Undated, Misdated Mail-In Ballots

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a decision on Sept. 13 that upholds a requirement in the key battleground state that voters must include accurate dates on the exterior envelopes of their mail-in ballots for the votes to be counted. The split 4–3 ruling vacates a previous Commonwealth Court decision that had halted enforcement of the legal requirement under Pennsylvania law that disqualified mail-in ballots if they were undated or featured incorrect dates. The Commonwealth Court found that the date requirement was unconstitutional when enforced against voters who submit their ballots by deadline. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that the Commonwealth Court did not have the authority to review that case because the plaintiffs did not include all 67 county election boards as defendants. Even though they included Al Schmidt, the secretary of the Commonwealth, as a defendant, that alone wasn’t enough to give the Commonwealth Court authority to decide the case....