TL/DR –
A U.S. district judge has ruled that undated mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania must still be counted, arguing that the date of receipt and voter qualifications, not the date written on the envelope, are the factors to consider. Judge Susan Paradise Baxter argued that this requirement of handwritten dates on ballot envelopes is irrelevant and that rejection of undated ballots violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The 2022 midterms saw more than 7,600 mail-in ballots not counted due to lack of or incorrect dates on the outer envelope.
US Judge Rules Undated Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballots Valid
US District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter ruled that undated mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania be counted, a decision potentially impacting the 2024 election in the crucial state. Baxter stated that a missing date, currently required by state law, is irrelevant to determining the ballot’s timely receipt or the voter’s eligibility.
The suit, initiated by the Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP, League of Women, the Black Political Empowerment Project, and others, is the latest legal challenge against the date requirement.
Republicans, both at the national and state level, have consistently opposed undated mail-in ballots, primarily in response to unsupported election fraud claims made by former President Trump.
Rejecting Undated Ballots Violates Civil Rights Act
Judge Baxter argued that undated ballot rejection infringes upon voter rights and contravenes the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s provisions, which caution against using trivial errors to obstruct voting. She emphasized that the crucial date is when the ballot gets received, not what’s written on the envelope.
During the 2022 midterms, over 7,600 mail-in ballots across 12 counties got rejected because they lacked a date or had an incorrect one, according to the ruling. These counties serve as some of the defendants in the lawsuit.
Previously, State Supreme Court Ruled for Strict Date Requirement
In November last year, the state Supreme Court unanimously decided that Pennsylvania officials cannot tally votes from mail-in or absentee ballots missing accurate handwritten dates on the return envelope. However, the justices were split on whether this requirement violates a federal civil rights law, the issue at the heart of Baxter’s ruling.
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