PA Must Count Undated Ballots, Federal Judge Rules

PENNSYLVANIA — Votes cast by mail-in ballot without the correct date on the outside envelope must still be counted in Pennsylvania, according to a ruling by a federal judge Monday, marking just the latest judicial development in a years-long controversy over mail-in voting in one of the nation's most crucial swing states.

Punishing voters for an incorrect date violates their first amendment right to express themselves politically and their constitutional right to vote, and a missing date is not sufficient reason to restrict such a vital right, U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter argued.

"Disenfranchising voters for defects in their ballots imposes significant burdens on voting rights even if the effort needed for a voter to complete the ballot correctly appears slight when considered in isolation," she said in her decision.

Baxter also rejected the notion that the date on the outer ballot significantly improved election security or voter fraud, something that had been put forth by the Republican National Committee.

Mail-in ballots that do not include a signature or date in the required place are often contested, and some 10,000 such ballots were entirely discounted in the 2022 election, officials said.

Pennsylvania introduced a new ballot redesign for the 2024 election with explicit instruction sheets and revised, clearer language. Authorities were hopeful the design would reduce voter confusion and make it foolproof where they need to sign and date the ballot, and which paper needs to go where.

But regardless of how common or uncommon the issue is, the legal question persists, and the RNC has announced that they will appeal Baxter's decision, the Associated Press reported. Indeed, Baxter herself and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made have made similar rulings about undated ballots in the past. To challenge these decisions, the RNC or county election boards elsewhere in Pennsylvania bring forth a unique set of circumstances.

Some officials have argued against the notion of an outer secrecy envelope altogether, saying that votes are tabulated half as slowly with that envelope. Others, including former Pennsylvania Chief Justice Max Baer, argue it is a needed security step.

In addition to Pennsylvania, fifteen other states around the country require an outer secrecy envelope.