Pennsylvania mail-in ballots should still count if dated incorrectly, judge rules
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A federal judge has ruled that mail-in ballots should still count in Pennsylvania if dated incorrectly, saying that rejecting these ballots still violates federal civil rights laws.
With Pennsylvania being a key battleground state, this decision is significant, especially less than one year from the 2024 presidential election.
Past history has shown that Democrats are much more likely to vote by mail than Republicans
The ruling comes after a lawsuit was filed over a 2019 state voting law and the U.S. District Judge said that county boards of election can no longer scrap mail-in ballots that lack accurate, hand-written dates on their return envelopes.
The judge added that the date, which is required by state law, is irrelevant in helping election leaders decide whether the ballot was received in time or whether the voter is qualified to cast a ballot.
This isn't the first time this issue has gone to court. It's been litigated multiple times since the use of mail-in voting expanded in the state under the voting law passed in 2019.