Oh, look. It’s Pennsylvania again. Let’s see if I can keep this story straight.
The U.S. Supreme Court, 9-0, rejected the GOP’s request to block the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision allowing voters with faulty mail-in ballots to submit provisional ballots.
A person receives a provisional ballot for a few reasons, including faulty mail-in ballots.
These are “known as ‘challenge’ or ‘affidavit’ ballots in some states, are required by the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).”
Justice Samuel Alito explained his reasoning:
The lower court’s judgment concerns just two votes in the long-completed Pennsylvania primary. Staying that judgment would not impose any binding obligation on any of the Pennsylvania officials who are responsible for the conduct of this year’s election. And because the only state election officials who are parties in this case are the members of the board of elections in one small county, we cannot order other election boards to sequester affected ballots. For these reasons, I agree with the order denying the application.
On October 23, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that “’the casting of a provisional ballot is specifically authorized in the [state] Election Code’ and that ‘[p]rovisional ballots exist as a failsafe to preserve access to the right to vote.’”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court did grant the GOP one win: it paused a ruling that allowed the state to count mail-in ballots without a date.
The case revolves around 69 undated ballots during a special election earlier this year in Philadelphia:
The appellate court said the decision applied to 69 undated ballots from a Philadelphia special election that took place earlier this year, but the Republican National Committee argued in court papers that the decision would “unleash chaos” in the 2024 general election.The RNC said state law made clear that undated mail-in ballots should not be counted and that the appellate court undermined that, effectively causing confusion for other counties outside of Philadelphia right before Election Day.
How about we move Election Day to a Saturday and vote in person? Those overseas can mail their ballots.
What a mess.
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