Appeals court rules Pennsylvania date requirement for mail-in ballots is unconstitutional
A federal appeals court ruled that Pennsylvania’s requirement to discard mail-in ballots with missing or incorrect dates on their return envelopes is unconstitutional. The U.S. court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a lower district court’s March 2023 decision, which found that the rule violated voters’ constitutional rights.The case originated from a lawsuit filed after the 2022 election by Pennsylvania voters, Senator John fetterman’s campaign, and Democratic party groups, arguing that the date requirement infringed upon the Civil Rights Act as well as the First and 14th Amendments. The court noted that the date on the ballot envelope does not affect voter eligibility and only creates unnecessary barriers to voting. The Republican National Committee challenged the lower court ruling but the appeals panel, comprising judges appointed by presidents Biden, Obama, and Bush, rejected the appeal.The RNC may still seek review by the full appeals court or the supreme Court. This ruling coudl affect future elections in Pennsylvania, including the 2026 governor and congressional races. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is set to hear related cases that could influence voting rules nationwide.
Appeals court rules Pennsylvania date requirement for mail-in ballots is unconstitutional
A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that a Pennsylvania requirement for mail-in ballots with missing or incorrect dates to be tossed out is unconstitutional, upholding a lower district court ruling.
A panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a March ruling from a federal district court in Pennsylvania that found the requirement did “not pass constitutional muster” in a lawsuit filed around the 2022 election. The Republican National Committee had appealed the lower court ruling, but a panel of three judges appointed by former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush rejected the appeal.
“We must determine if the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s requirement that mail-in ballots that arrive in undated or misdated return envelopes be discarded complies with our Constitution,” the opinion written by Judge D. Brooks Smith said.
“Weighing the burden that practice imposes on Pennsylvanians’ constitutional right to vote against the State’s interest in the practice, the balance of the scales leads us to hold that it does not comply with our Constitution,” added the opinion by the Bush-appointed judge.
The lawsuit, which was brought in Nov. 2022 by a group of Pennsylvania voters, now-Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-PA) campaign, along with the Democratic Party’s House and Senate campaign wings, argued the state’s date requirement for mail-in ballots violated the Civil Rights Act along with the First and 14th Amendments.
“The date on a mail ballot envelope thus has no bearing on a voter’s qualifications and serves no purpose other than to erect barriers to qualified voters exercising their fundamental constitutional right to vote,” the Democrat-led lawsuit alleged.
The RNC could appeal the panel’s decision to the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit or appeal to the Supreme Court.
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The Supreme Court is slated to hear a trio of cases that could have significant implications for the 2026 elections, including one regarding Louisiana’s congressional map and one that could open the door to challenging late-arriving mail-in ballots.
If the decision allowing undated ballots to be counted remains in place for the 2026 elections, it could have an impact on various key races in the Keystone State, including for the governor and in battleground House races.
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