The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered state election officials to set aside undated mail-in ballots in next week’s midterms.
The Thursday ruling was made in a unanimous decision regarding ballots without a date.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Orders Election Officials to Set Aside Undated Mail-In Ballots https://t.co/f4PpHwYIZH
— Texas99 (@TexasBob53) November 2, 2022
The decision
“Under Pennsylvania law, mail-in voters are required to sign and date a declaration on the outer envelope. Despite this requirement, if undated or incorrectly dated ballots are turned in on time, they are eligible to be counted,” Breitbart News reported.
“However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered election officials to ‘segregate and preserve’ any incorrect or undated mail-in ballots,” it added.
🚨ALERT: Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules in favor of Republicans and prohibits counties from counting mail-in ballots whose outer envelopes are missing a handwritten date or have an incorrect date but are otherwise valid.https://t.co/wrL9KCpU75
— Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) November 1, 2022
The latest
“On Tuesday, Nov. 1, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that counties cannot count undated mail-in ballots (ballots that are timely cast and valid but missing a date on their outer return envelopes) and wrongly dated mail-in ballots (ballots that are timely cast and valid but have an incorrect date, such as the voter’s birthday, on their outer return envelopes) in this year’s midterm elections,” Democracy Docket reported on Tuesday.
“This ruling comes after the Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Party of Pennsylvania and Republican voters filed a King’s Bench petition (a petition filed in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court when petitioners seek immediate relief from the state’s highest court),” it added.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered election officials in the state to refrain from counting mail-in ballots that lack a written date on their outer envelope, siding with Republicans in a matter that could have national implications. https://t.co/pTDFDKzsMn
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 2, 2022
The controversy surrounding undated mail-in ballots could be critical in some of the state’s close races.
Of top importance is the fight for the governorship of Pennsylvania. A close Senate vote between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz is also expected.
The winner of the state’s elections may not be known on election night as a result, leading to another round of election controversy.