In Pennsylvania, a three-judge panel for the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday, March 27, that mail-in ballots must have accurate dates on the envelope. During the 2022 midterm election, more than 10,000 ballots in Pennsylvania were thrown out because they had missing or inaccurate dates on the envelope.
According to state law, voters are required to “fill out, date and sign the declaration printed on envelope” before turning in their ballot.
Advocacy groups sued, arguing that tossing ballots was in violation of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 because the law contains a “materiality provision,” which bans denying “the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration or other act requisite to voting.”
In 2023, a lower court judge sided with the advocacy groups and said the state requirement violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Republican National Committee appealed, and the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals came down with the decision Wednesday.
In the court’s opinion, U.S. Circuit Court Judge Thomas Ambro, a Clinton appointee, said the materiality provision “only applies when the state is determining who may vote.”
“The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that dating the envelope is mandatory, and undated or misdated ballots are invalid under its state law and must be set aside,” Ambro said.
U.S. Circuit Judge Patty Schwartz dissented, saying the rule would allow the state to “toss a ballot cast by a qualified voter based upon mistakes on required paperwork immaterial to determining voter qualifications.”
It’s unclear if the advocacy groups will appeal the decision before the 2024 presidential election.
“If this ruling stands, thousands of Pennsylvania voters could lose their vote over a meaningless paperwork error,” Mike Lee, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said.
