Election integrity is a non-negotiable foundation of our U.S. democracy. Citizens must be able to trust the voting process, or else the fabric of U.S. society will quickly fall apart.
Problems with the voting system have surfaced ever since the Bush v. Gore election where pieces of paper, or “chads,” on ballots set the world ablaze in debate over election integrity. Challenges to more current voter rules have forced the court system to step in and decide how elections must be conducted.
Swing states are being closely watched for how voters will cast their ballots this November. One of the most pivotal swing states must adhere to a specific change in its voting practices after a recent court decision.
From the Daily Caller:
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday declined to reconsider a previous decision upholding a requirement that voters write dates on mail-in ballots in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.A 3rd Circuit panel decided in late March that the state’s date requirement on mail-in ballots doesn’t violate the Civil Rights Act. The 3rd Circuit decided not to rehear the case en banc, maintaining that mail-in ballots must have the correct date on the outside envelopes in order to be counted.
En banc means the entire slate of judges would have reviewed the case. There wasn’t a majority of judges on the panel who wanted to seek a rehearing.
The ruling followed a November U.S. District court decision that stated mail-in ballots without a proper date should be counted if received in time. The lower court stated that rejecting the votes would violate the Civil Rights Act. The appeals court reversed the decision and stated the Civil Rights Act didn’t apply to ballot dates.
The appeals court cited the Pennsylvania General Assembly deciding that mail-in voters must date the return envelope of their ballot to validate the vote.
“The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania unanimously held this ballot-casting rule is mandatory; thus, failure to comply renders a ballot invalid under Pennsylvania law,” Judge Thomas Ambro wrote.
The cascade of rulings followed the 2022 midterms where more than 7,600 mail-in ballots across 12 counties were tossed for lacking or having incorrect dates. A lawsuit was filed to counteract the Pennsylvania legislators’ efforts to maintain election integrity.
Pennsylvania is setting up to be one of the tightest battleground states between Biden and former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. That also filters down into the congressional and state level elections. Trump currently holds a slim lead over Biden by one point in the RealClarPolitics average.
Trump lost Pennsylvania in 2020 by only 81,660 votes. Poll watchers questioned how many mail-in ballots were counted and when they were received which led to speculation regarding total votes for or against Trump.
Key Takeaways:
- Pennsylvania appeals court upheld a requirement for proper dates on mail-in ballots.
- The ruling rendered by the court made it clear that state legislators approved the rule.
- A state supreme court decision backed the ruling and ballot counts must follow the rules.
Source: Daily Caller
