{"id":2334574,"date":"2024-08-30T20:17:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T00:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvania-court-stops-incorrectly-dated-mail-in-votes-from-being-thrown-out-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-30T20:20:36","modified_gmt":"2024-08-31T00:20:36","slug":"pennsylvania-court-stops-incorrectly-dated-mail-in-votes-from-being-thrown-out-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvania-court-stops-incorrectly-dated-mail-in-votes-from-being-thrown-out-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania court stops incorrectly dated mail-in votes from being thrown out &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpennsylvania-court-stops-incorrectly-dated-mail-in-votes-from-being-thrown-out-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2334574&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Pennsylvania\u200c court has issued a\u2062 ruling that\u200b prevents the enforcement of a requirement for mail-in ballots to feature accurate, handwritten dates\u2062 on their submission envelopes. This decision is expected to preserve thousands of ballots that may \u2064have otherwise \u2064been discarded due to minor violations.\u200d Judge Ellen Ceisler, in\u200b the majority opinion, argued that not counting ballots with\u200b incorrect or missing dates infringes upon the Pennsylvania Constitution&#8217;s guarantee of free and equal elections. The\u2064 ruling \u2063passed with a 4-1 vote, with Judge Patricia McCullough dissenting, expressing concerns that the majority&#8217;s \u200bdecision disregarded common sense\u200b and established legal standards. Several Democratic groups were involved in the lawsuit, and Pennsylvania\u200b Governor \u2064Josh \u2064Shapiro\u2062 called the decision a win for the state&#8217;s voters.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Pennsylvania court stops incorrectly dated mail-in votes from being thrown out<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1742727\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pennsylvania\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Pennsylvania<\/a> court ruled to halt the enforcement of a rule <span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">requiring&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mail-in-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mail-in ballots<\/a>&nbsp;to include accurate, handwritten dates on the&nbsp;<\/span>envelopes used to submit them.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/courts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>ruling<\/a> will likely save thousands of ballots from being thrown out because of violations.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The refusal to count undated or incorrectly dated but timely mail ballots submitted by otherwise eligible voters because of meaningless and inconsequential paperwork errors violates the fundamental right to vote&rdquo; in the Pennsylvania Constitution, Judge Ellen Ceisler wrote in the majority opinion, siding with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-waives-ethics-rules-for-former-lobbyists\/\" title=\"Biden Administration Waives Ethics Rules For Former Lobbyists\">left-leaning groups<\/a> that sued three months ago.<\/p>\n<p>The court ruled 4-1 that tossing out voters&rsquo; ballots violates the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawsuit-arizonas-ranked-choice-voting-ballot-initiative-is-illegal\/\" title=\"Lawsuit: Arizona&#039;s Ranked-Choice Voting Ballot Initiative Is Illegal\">state constitution&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s clause that addresses &ldquo;free and equal&rdquo; elections. Judge Patricia McCullough was the only judge to dissent, saying that the majority showed &ldquo;a wholesale abandonment of common sense,&rdquo; ignored more than a century of legal precedent, and rewrote the 2019 state law that expanded mail-in voting.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I must wonder whether walking into a polling place, signing your name, licking an envelope, or going to the mailbox can now withstand the majority&rsquo;s newly minted standard,&rdquo; McCullough wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Several Democratic Party groups joined the lawsuit, and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) posted on X that the ruling was &ldquo;a victory for Pennsylvanians&rsquo; fundamental right to vote.&rdquo; The case was first brought against the secretary of state and the election boards in Philadelphia and Allegheny County.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of State already determined that the dating of a mail-in ballot envelope has &ldquo;no purpose to election administration.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Multiple court cases have now confirmed that the dating of a mail-in ballot envelope, when election officials can already confirm it was sent and received within the legal voting window, provides no purpose to election administration,&rdquo; the Department of State said in a release.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>One lawyer who represented the state and the national GOP groups in the case has already said that they will appeal.<\/p>\n<p>The court&rsquo;s decision could benefit Vice President Kamala Harris in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-superior-court-orders-maricopa-county-ariz-to-turn-over-2-1m-ballots-from-nov-election\/\" title=\"U.S. Superior Court orders Maricopa County Ariz. to turn over 2.1M ballots from Nov. election\">critical battleground state<\/a> if past history repeats itself. In 2020, 58% of President Joe Biden&rsquo;s voters cast their vote by absentee or mail-in ballots, while 32% of Trump voters did so, according to a Pew Research <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2020\/11\/20\/the-voting-experience-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1742727\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1742727\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Pennsylvania court has decided to suspend the enforcement of a rule that mandates mail-in ballots to have correct, handwritten dates on their submission envelopes. This ruling is expected to prevent the discarding of thousands of ballots due to minor errors. Judge Ellen Ceisler, in her majority opinion, stated that rejecting timely mail-in ballots from eligible voters due to trivial paperwork mistakes infringes upon the fundamental right to vote as outlined in the Pennsylvania Constitution. The court&#8217;s decision was made with a 4-1 vote, asserting that discarding voters&#8217; ballots contravenes the state constitution&#8217;s guarantee of &#8220;free and equal&#8221; elections. Judge Patricia McCullough dissented, arguing that the majority disregarded common sense and legal precedents while misinterpreting a 2019 law aimed at expanding mail-in voting. Several Democratic organizations were involved in the lawsuit, and Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) expressed on X that this ruling represents a win for Pennsylvanians&#8217; essential voting rights. The case was initially filed against both the secretary of state and election boards in Philadelphia and Allegheny County. The Department of State has already indicated that requiring dates on mail-in ballot envelopes serves no purpose for election administration when officials can verify they were sent and received within legal timeframes. A lawyer representing state interests along with national GOP groups has announced plans to appeal this decision. If history repeats itself, this ruling could be advantageous for Vice President Kamala Harris in this key battleground state; data from Pew Research shows that during the 2020 election, 58% of President Joe Biden\u2019s supporters voted by absentee or mail-in ballot compared to only 32% of Trump supporters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2334575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/voter-registration.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[33740,39791,5836],"class_list":["post-2334574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-court-ruling","tag-mail-in-votes","tag-pennsylvania"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/voter-registration.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2334574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2334575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2334574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2334574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2334574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}