Court Blocks Pennsylvania Rule That Would Have Tossed Mail-In Votes Over Incorrect Dates

A Pennsylvania court ruled on Friday to stop a controversial rule that would have invalidated mail-in ballots with incorrect or missing handwritten dates on their envelopes. This decision is expected to save thousands of votes in the November election, as the state remains a key battleground.

The Commonwealth Court’s 4-1 ruling found that disqualifying ballots over minor paperwork errors infringes on voters’ constitutional rights to “free and equal” elections. Judge Ellen Ceisler, who wrote the majority opinion, stated that rejecting valid ballots due to date errors violates the Pennsylvania Constitution’s guarantee of the right to vote.

“This ruling is a victory for Pennsylvanians’ fundamental right to vote,” Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro said on social media, celebrating the court’s decision.

The rule in question had required voters to write accurate dates on the exterior envelope of their mail-in ballots. Failure to do so could have resulted in the ballots being thrown out, even if they were submitted on time. The impact of this rule was expected to be relatively small, but could still have affected up to 10,000 ballots in a state where more than 6 million votes are anticipated this fall.

Older voters and Democrats—who are more likely to vote by mail—were found to be disproportionately affected by the date error rule. The case was brought against Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State and election boards in Philadelphia and Allegheny County, with several Democratic groups and voting rights organizations supporting the lawsuit.

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Patricia McCullough criticized the majority’s decision, accusing them of abandoning legal precedent and undermining the 2019 state law that expanded mail-in voting.

The Secretary of State’s office had yet to comment on how the ruling might affect future guidance for elections. Earlier, the Department of State had advised counties to pre-print envelope dates for the 2024 election, requiring only the month and day to be added by voters.

Tom King, representing state and national Republican groups, expressed disappointment and announced plans to appeal, arguing that previous court rulings had upheld similar date requirements.

Voting rights groups, including the ACLU of Pennsylvania, hailed the decision as a victory for democracy. “No one should lose their vote over a simple human error that has no relevance to whether or not the ballot was received on time,” said Mike Lee, the ACLU’s executive director.