{"id":2569393,"date":"2026-02-12T14:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T19:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-urged-to-weigh-in-on-pa-mail-ballot-dating-law\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T14:56:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T19:56:55","slug":"supreme-court-urged-to-weigh-in-on-pa-mail-ballot-dating-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-urged-to-weigh-in-on-pa-mail-ballot-dating-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court urged to weigh in on PA mail ballot dating law"},"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\">24<\/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%2Fsupreme-court-urged-to-weigh-in-on-pa-mail-ballot-dating-law%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=2569393&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>The Republican National Committee is urging the Supreme court to weigh in on Pennsylvania\u2019s rule requiring mail ballots to be dated by the voter, arguing that the law is unconstitutional and that a Third Circuit ruling striking it down sets a dangerous precedent of courts dictating election rules. The RNC will present its arguments next month in Watson v. RNC over the legality of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >counting late-arriving mail ballots<\/a> and has also filed a petition asking the Court to take up its challenge to Pennsylvania\u2019s date-requirement. The Third Circuit ruled the dating requirement unconstitutional, and the RNC contends that the Anderson-Burdick framework was misapplied, which could make voting rules vulnerable to federal review and limit state legislatures\u2019 leverage to set election policies. The petition warns that allowing broad federal judicial scrutiny would chill innovation in voting rules and erode confidence in elections, by upending the constitutional balance between state authority and the right to vote. The Supreme Court has already heard several election-related cases this term, and a decision on the RNC\u2019s petition would likely come in the next term, perhaps after the upcoming Pennsylvania midterm elections.  <\/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\">Supreme Court urged to weigh in on Pennsylvania&rsquo;s mail ballot dating law<\/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\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2500904\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican-national-committee\/\">Republican National Committee<\/a> asked the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/supreme-court\/\">Supreme Court<\/a> to hear a case over Pennsylvania&rsquo;s law requiring mail ballots to be dated by the voter, warning that an appeals court ruling that struck down the law continues a dangerous precedent of courts intervening in election rulemaking.<\/p>\n<p>The RNC will be before the high court next month, when it argues in <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4452353\/rnc-tells-supreme-court-strike-down-late-arriving-ballot-laws\/\">Watson v. RNC<\/a><\/em>  over the legality of laws that allow states to count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day. It also filed a petition to the Supreme Court this week, asking the justices to take up its challenge to an appeals court ruling over another mail ballot law in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pennsylvania\/\">Pennsylvania<\/a>, this one requiring voters to write the correct date on their mail-in ballot for the state to count it. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3782283\/appeals-court-rules-pennsylvania-mail-ballots-date-requirement-unconstitutional\/\">ruled<\/a> last year that the law did &ldquo;not pass constitutional muster,&rdquo; leading the GOP to appeal to the high court.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4452353\/rnc-tells-supreme-court-strike-down-late-arriving-ballot-laws\/\">RNC tells Supreme Court to strike down <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-could-shake-up-mail-ballot-and-campaign-finance-rules\/\" title=\"... could shake up mail ... and campaign finance rules\">late-arriving ballot laws<\/a><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;The panel declared unconstitutional perhaps the least burdensome voting rule imaginable: Pennsylvania&rsquo;s requirement that voters who choose the convenience of mail voting write a date in a specified field on the ballot-return envelope,&rdquo; the RNC said in its <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/prod-static.gop.com\/media\/documents\/RNC_v._Eakin_Cert_Petition_1770844542.pdf\">petition<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This decision continues the alarming trend of courts wielding the so-called <em>Anderson-Burdick<\/em> framework to anoint themselves, rather than state legislatures, as the &lsquo;bear[ers of] primary responsibility for setting election rules,&#8217;&rdquo; the petition continued.<\/p>\n<p>The RNC argued that the <em>Anderson-Burdick<\/em> framework, a combination of two prior Supreme Court rulings that outline how courts should look at balancing the interests of the state with the burden an election law imposes on the voter, was misapplied in a vague manner that would leave virtually any voting rule vulnerable to being struck down.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If that holding is left uncorrected, no voting or ballot-casting rule will be safe from open-ended, standardless federal judicial review&mdash;and even invalidation. No burden on voters will be too minimal to escape the federal courts&rsquo; notice, and every state interest must be supported by evidence sufficient to satisfy federal judges,&rdquo; the RNC said in its petition.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;State legislatures will have no latitude to innovate with new voting regimes, including those that make voting easier,&rdquo; the petition continued.<\/p>\n<p>The RNC also warned that the third circuit ruling &ldquo;upends the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/constitution\/\">Constitution&rsquo;s<\/a> careful balance between States&rsquo; authority to regulate elections and the right to vote,&rdquo; by giving a political victory to people who &ldquo;lost in the political arena&rdquo; while also eroding public confidence in elections.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court has already taken up multiple election-related cases this term, including those regarding candidates&rsquo; ability to sue over state election laws, campaign finance laws, mail ballot deadlines, and race-based redistricting.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4452353\/rnc-tells-supreme-court-strike-down-late-arriving-ballot-laws\/\">RNC TELLS SUPREME COURT TO STRIKE DOWN LATE-ARRIVING BALLOT LAWS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Of the four election-related cases this term, the high court has already heard three, with the fourth &mdash; <em>Watson v. RNC<\/em> &mdash; scheduled for next month. The high court has issued only one ruling in the quartet of cases, ruling in <em>Bost v. Illinois Board of Elections<\/em> that candidates have an inherent ability to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doocy-presses-psaki-on-biden-vilifying-republicans-she-ends-response-by-cheering-for-football-team\/\" title=\"Doocy Presses Psaki On Biden Vilifying Republicans, She Ends Response By Cheering For Football Team\">challenge state election laws<\/a> that police their elections.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court will decide whether to take up the RNC&rsquo;s latest petition in the coming months, but if it does, the case would likely not be decided until their next term, after the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\">midterm election<\/a>. In November, voters in Pennsylvania will elect various officers, including the governor and members of Congress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/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>SC urged to weigh in on PA mail-ballot dating law<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2569394,"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\/2026\/02\/AP25308727870419.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[73523,73692,5836,70735],"class_list":["post-2569393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-election-law-2","tag-mail-ballots-2","tag-pennsylvania","tag-supreme-court-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP25308727870419.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569393","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\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2569393"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2569397,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569393\/revisions\/2569397"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2569394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2569393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2569393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2569393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}