The legal contest over the requirement of dates on mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania has seen significant development, as reported by a commentator in JURIST – News. A federal appeals court panel determined that this requirement did not infringe upon the Civil Rights Act’s Materiality Provision, thereby overturning a previous ruling by a lower court.
Of note, this ongoing debate revolves around Act 77, a voter reform bill enforced in the state of Pennsylvania. The Act dictates that all voters must write the date on their return envelopes when submitting mail-in ballots.
However, the consequential result of Act 77 raised eyebrows when ballots of many Pennsylvania voters were considered invalid in the 2022 election, due to various reasons including omitting the date or using abbreviated or incorrect dates.
In November of the same year, a U.S federal district court in Pennsylvania concluded that all undated mail-in ballots received in time should be counted, irrespective of the directive from Act 77. Moreover, it was perceived that declining to account for these votes was a violation of the Materiality Provision, a legal principle that outlines U.S voting standards and rights.
A revised judgement on this matter was however passed on Wednesday by the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The court upheld that the date requirement did not defy the Materiality Provision, asserting that this provision only applies when the state is deciding who is eligible to vote rather than dictating the voting procedure. This insight tallied with a recent unanimous ruling on a related case by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, stating the mandated inclusion of date by the state’s Election Code and that ballots without dates are rendered invalid.
The Republican National Committee publicly embraced the recent ruling, recognising it as a crucial win for maintaining election integrity and bolstering voter confidence both within Pennsylvania and nationwide.