Democratic-appointed judges on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that only mail-in ballots with accurate dates can be counted in Pennsylvania elections.
The Republican National Committee celebrated the results, suggesting it increases voters’ confidence in the integrity of elections.
The ACLU of Pennsylvania and other left-leaning groups instead denounced the ruling, implying that the fight to allow unsound votes to be counted in Pennsylvania is far from over.
background
Following a lawsuit from the Republican National Committee, the Republican Congressional Committee, and the Pennsylvania Republican Party, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in November 2022 ordered state election officials to issue envelopes with missing or incorrect dates. The government ordered that mail-in ballots with a sign affixed to them not be counted.
The court apparently agreed with the Republican opinion seeking an injunction, which argued that the General Assembly “could not have been clearer in requiring voters who chose to vote by absentee or mail-in ballot to … write a date.” . Then sign the declaration printed on the outer envelope of your ballot. ”
Democrats have traditionally relied more on mail-in voting than Republicans, so the ruling was expected to lead to even more Democratic votes being discarded in the general election.
The Pennsylvania Conference of the NAACP and other left-wing groups subsequently sued Pennsylvania election officials in an effort to force the state to count such invalid mail-in ballots.
November 2023, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
control The court sided with the plaintiffs, concluding that federal law requires mail-in ballots to be counted even if they are undated or have an “incorrect” date.
Republicans quickly appealed this decision to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
fate is reversed
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, 2-1, overturning the district court’s ruling.
Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro said:
majority opinion Contrary to arguments raised Wednesday in the Pennsylvania Conference on the NAACP’s complaint, “the materiality clause only applies if the state has determined.” who I might vote. In other words, their role stops at the entrance to the polling place. ”
“This provision does not apply to rules such as date requirements that govern how eligible voters must cast their votes for their votes to be counted,” Ambro continued.
The court emphasized that “an individual is not ‘denied’ the right to vote even if a noncompliant ballot is not counted.”
Umbro continued, “The opposite approach cannot be reconciled with the text of the law or the historical context, nor can it comply with the date requirement while leaving in place other voting rules that are in the valid national interest.” “We have reached a conclusion,” he added.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley
Said “This is a critical victory for election integrity and voter confidence in the Keystone State and across the country,” he said in a statement.
“Pennsylvanians deserve to have confidence in the security of their mail-in ballots, and this Third Circuit ruling eliminates illegal left-wing attempts to count undated or misdated mail-in ballots. I categorically reject this,” Mr Whatley added. “Republicans will continue to fight and win for election integrity in courtrooms across the country as we head into the 2024 elections.”
The RNC also emphasized the importance of strengthening security measures for mail-in voting, as Pennsylvania is a “critical battleground state.”
Mike Lee, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, lamented the outcome.
claim Thousands of Pennsylvania voters could “lose their votes” due to an apparent inability to properly cast their ballots.
“We are considering all options at this point, and we will not stop fighting for our voters,” said Ari Sabisky, an attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, whose case in court was unsuccessful.
philip hensley robinthe director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, a plaintiff in the case, argued that the ruling “certainly has a negative impact on older voters and voters of color,” but why minorities should pay attention to the defective He did not say whether a particular ballot would be considered more likely to be submitted.
“We will work with our partners to ensure voters across Pennsylvania know how to ensure their vote is counted,” added Hensley Robin.
Spotlight PA I got it. The ruling is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month, and some justices have expressed interest in taking up the issue.
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