US Appeals Court Won’t Reconsider Ruling on Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballots

A U.S. appeals court that upheld Pennsylvania’s mandate that voters write the date on mail-in ballots declined a new request from liberal groups to rescind the decision.

In March, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Pennsylvania’s requirement that dates be placed on mail-in ballots doesn’t violate a portion of the Civil Rights Act.

A majority of judges wrote that a lower court ruling that reversed the mandate erroneously relied on a provision of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

“No judge who concurred in the decision … asked for rehearing, and a majority of the judges of the circuit in regular service” did not vote “for rehearing,” the order read. “The petitions for rehearing by the panel … are denied.”

In last month’s ruling, Judge Thomas Ambro said the section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that the lower court relied upon does not pertain to ballot-casting rules broadly, such as dates on envelopes, but “is concerned only with the process of determining a voter’s eligibility to cast a ballot.”

Related Stories

“The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania unanimously held this ballot-casting rule is mandatory; thus, failure to comply renders a ballot invalid under Pennsylvania law.”

The judge, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, said the date requirement “serves little apparent purpose” but he noted that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had ruled that dating envelopes is required.

“Undated or misdated ballots are invalid under state law and must be set aside,” he concluded.

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Patty Shwartz, a nominee of President Barack Obama, wrote that the ruling is a reminder that voters review mail-in ballot instructions or it might be declared invalid.

“If they do not, they risk having their otherwise valid votes discounted based on even the most inconsequential mistake,” she wrote.

That order was issued after a lower court judge had ruled in November that even without the proper dates, mail-in ballots should be counted if they are received on time.

U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter, who was originally nominated by President Obama and then renominated by President Donald Trump, said the envelope date is irrelevant in helping elections officials decide whether a ballot was received on time or if a voter is qualified.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats have been far more likely to vote by mail than Republicans under an expansion of mail-in ballots enacted in 2019.

The total number of mail-in ballots that might be impacted is a small fraction of the large state’s electorate. But the court’s ruling puts additional attention on Pennsylvania’s election procedures ahead of a presidential election in which its Electoral College votes are up for grabs.

After the April 30 decision, a spokesperson for the ACLU’s Pennsylvania division, Ian Pajer-Rogers, told a local outlet that his organization and other liberal groups are looking to review how to move forward on the case.

“We strongly disagree with the panel majority’s conclusion that voters may be disenfranchised for a minor paperwork error like forgetting to write an irrelevant date on the return envelope of their mail ballot,” Ari Savitzky, a lawyer with the ACLU, told The Associated Press when the March ruling was issued. “We are considering all of our options at this time.”

The left-leaning Democracy Docket also lamented the court’s move in an article published on April 30, writing that upholding the rule will represent “a loss for voters in the Keystone State as the strict requirement was in place for last week’s primary election and will remain in place for the November elections.”

“Rejection of mail-in ballots often impacts lower income and non-white communities—as well as Democratic voters—at a disproportionate rate,” it said, without providing evidence. It added that voters in Philadelphia “are more likely to have their ballots rejected due to simple mistakes.”

“This is a crucial victory for election integrity and voter confidence in the Keystone State and nationwide,” said RNC Chairman Michael Whatley in a statement.

“Pennsylvanians deserve to feel confident in the security of their mail ballots, and this 3rd Circuit ruling roundly rejects unlawful left-wing attempts to count undated or incorrectly dated mail ballots.

“Republicans will continue to fight and win for election integrity in courts across the country ahead of the 2024 election.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.