{"id":2361893,"date":"2024-10-30T20:18:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T00:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvania-democrats-urge-supreme-court-to-keep-provisional-ballot-rule-in-place-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-30T20:24:20","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T00:24:20","slug":"pennsylvania-democrats-urge-supreme-court-to-keep-provisional-ballot-rule-in-place-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvania-democrats-urge-supreme-court-to-keep-provisional-ballot-rule-in-place-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Democrats urge Supreme Court to keep provisional ballot rule in place &#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\">30<\/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-democrats-urge-supreme-court-to-keep-provisional-ballot-rule-in-place-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=2361893&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>Pennsylvania Democrats are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a\u200d ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that allows voters \u2064to cast provisional ballots even if\u200d they\u200c have submitted faulty mail-in ballots. This \u200cappeal comes \u200bin response\u200c to an emergency \u2062request from the Republican National Committee, which seeks to block these provisional ballot options, arguing that the Pennsylvania \u200bSupreme Court&#8217;s decision \u2063oversteps \u2064legislative authority and create remedies for mail-ballot errors not authorized by the state \u200clegislature.<\/p>\n<p>The case involves two Butler County voters\u200d who encountered issues with their mail-in ballots and were initially advised they could vote provisionally. However, their provisional \u2062ballots were later\u2063 rejected by election \u2062officials. The Democrats contend that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">allowing provisional ballots ensures compliance<\/a> with state law and aligns with practices\u2062 in \u200bother counties that permit voters to correct \u2062mail-in ballot errors. They argue this ruling is critical, especially in \u200ca \u2063crucial election state like Pennsylvania, where \u200cit could impact tens of thousands of votes in future elections, including the potential control of the U.S. Senate and\u200b the\u2064 2024 Presidential Election. The Supreme \u2062Court&#8217;s response to this emergency request is anticipated soon.  <\/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 Democrats urge Supreme Court to keep <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/msnbc-guest-jumps-the-gun-starts-denying-election-results-before-polls-close\/\" title=\"MSNBC Guest Jumps The Gun, Starts Denying Election Results Before Polls Close\">provisional ballot rule<\/a> in place<\/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_1869082\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pennsylvania\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pennsylvania<\/a>&nbsp;Democrats asked the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Supreme Court<\/a>&nbsp;on Wednesday to reject Republican efforts to block some provisional ballot options in their must-win battleground state.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The state Democrats, along with two Butler County voters, argued in a court response that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court was correct when it ruled that voters who return faulty mail-in ballots can still vote by casting a provisional ballot on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Election Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Republican National Committee and state Republicans disagreed with the ruling and had asked the U.S. Supreme Court in an emergency request this week to block election officials from allowing such provisional ballots.<\/p>\n<p>Attorneys for the Republicans argued the Pennsylvania Supreme Court&rsquo;s ruling &ldquo;usurps&rdquo; the state legislature&rsquo;s authority. The ruling &ldquo;effectively creates a cure process for mail-ballot errors &mdash; a process everyone agrees the General Assembly has deliberately chosen not to create,&rdquo; the GOP attorneys wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The high court is expected to respond quickly to the emergency request, and its decision could, according to the Republican attorneys, affect &ldquo;tens of thousands of votes&rdquo; in a state that &ldquo;many anticipate could be decisive in control of the U.S. Senate or even the 2024 Presidential Election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania Democrats joined the two original plaintiffs in the case, Faith Genser and Frank Matis. The pair cast defective mail-in ballots in the primary in Butler County and attempted to correct the problems by instead casting provisional ballots, an option election officials told them was available. However, Butler County later rejected their provisional ballots, saying they actually could not cast them since they had already mailed in ballots.<\/p>\n<p>Butler County is among roughly three dozen counties in Pennsylvania that give voters who return defective mail-in ballots, such as those with missing or mismatched signatures, a chance to cure the ballots so that their votes will be counted. Genser&rsquo;s and Matis&rsquo;s mail-in ballots were defective because they did not put their ballots in mandatory inner sleeves, called &ldquo;secrecy envelopes.&rdquo; Butler County does not offer an option for curing those ballots, which are known as &ldquo;naked ballots.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania is unique in that the state legislature explicitly gives individual counties the authority to decide whether or not they want to offer curing options for problematic mail-in ballots.<\/p>\n<p>The state Democrats argued to the high court that requiring all counties to offer provisional ballots to those who have turned in deficient mail-in ballots aligns with state law.<\/p>\n<p>Several other courts have already &ldquo;concluded that the Election Code requires county boards to count provisional ballots submitted by voters who made disqualifying mistakes on their mail-ballot packets,&rdquo; the Democrats&rsquo; attorneys argued.<\/p>\n<p>Even though curing options are up to individual county election boards, provisional ballot rights are uniform across the state. If voters are told they submitted a mail-in ballot that will not be counted, they have the right to submit a provisional ballot, the Democrats&rsquo; attorneys said. They noted that only those who have properly submitted mail-in ballots are barred from casting provisional ballots.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/live-blog\/2024-election-campaign-live-updates-harris-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024 ELECTIONS LIVE UPDATES: LATEST NEWS ON THE TRUMP-HARRIS PRESIDENTIAL RACE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The equities also weigh decisively against a stay,&rdquo; the attorneys said. &ldquo;The extraordinary relief applicants seek would &lsquo;wholly disenfranchise&rsquo; voters seeking to cast a provisional ballot &lsquo;for no discernible purpose,&#8217;&rdquo; they wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The filing from Pennsylvania Democrats is part of the second <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-take-on-more-than-100-election-lawsuits-ahead-of-november-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Republicans take on more than 100 election lawsuits ahead of November - Washington Examiner\">election-related legal fight<\/a> to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court this week after the high court also picked up one in Virginia. The justices in that case responded to a petition from the Virginia Republican attorney general within a matter of days, granting his request to continue Virginia&rsquo;s efforts to keep potential noncitizens off its voter rolls in the face of objections from the Department of Justice.<\/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_1869082\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1869082\"}});<\/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>Pennsylvania Democrats urge Supreme Court to uphold provisional ballot rule<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2361894,"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\/09\/AP24264740830449.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[3685,5836,32275],"class_list":["post-2361893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-democrats","tag-pennsylvania","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AP24264740830449.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361893","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\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2361893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2361894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2361893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2361893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2361893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}