Aug 26, 02:46 PM

US Appeals Court Strikes Down Pennsylvania Mail-Ballot Date Rule

The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Tuesday that Pennsylvania’s requirement to discard mail-in ballots arriving in envelopes with incorrect or missing dates violates the U.S. Constitution. Writing for the three-judge panel, Senior Judge D. Brooks Smith said the practice imposed an undue burden on voters’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and lacked a meaningful link to preventing fraud or enhancing election efficiency. The decision affirms a lower-court ruling that found the date rule unconstitutional and noted that thousands of otherwise valid ballots had been rejected under the provision in recent elections. Judges Patty Shwartz and Arianna Freeman joined Smith’s opinion, creating a bipartisan bench split between appointees of Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The lawsuit was brought by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the American Federation of Teachers. Uzoma Nkwonta, counsel for the groups, called the outcome “a decisive victory for voting rights.” Pennsylvania’s Republican Attorney General, Dave Sunday, whose office defended the statute, said he is reviewing the ruling and weighing further options, including a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. How Pennsylvania handles mail voting has been a recurring flashpoint in a state that has proved pivotal in recent presidential contests. Tuesday’s decision, if it stands, will allow election officials to count timely mail ballots regardless of envelope date errors, shaping voting procedures ahead of the 2025 local races and the 2026 mid-term cycle.