The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge from the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania regarding lower court rulings on defective mail-in ballots. These rulings require counties to notify voters of any errors in their mail-in ballots and allow them to fix those errors so that their votes can be counted.
In an order issued on October 5, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted the RNC’s petition for appeal. The court will examine whether the Commonwealth Court was mistaken in ruling that Washington County’s policy of not notifying voters about defective mail-in ballots violated their due process rights. The appeal will also consider whether it was correct for the court to affirm that voters who cast defective mail-in ballots should be given a chance to fix them or cast provisional ballots on Election Day.
This case could have significant implications for how mail-in voting is administered in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, leading up to the 2024 general election. The focus of the debate is on the legality of procedures for curing mail-in ballots.
The controversy centers around changes made to Washington County’s mail-in voting policy in April. Under this policy, all mail-in ballots, even those flagged as defective, were entered into the state’s voter registration system as “received.” This meant that voters would only become aware that their defective ballots wouldn’t be counted if they took specific steps to verify their vote status.
A lawsuit challenging this policy was filed in July by several organizations and individual voters who argued that it effectively disenfranchised voters by misleading them into thinking their defective ballots would count while denying them an opportunity to cure those defects.
A lower court ruled in favor of these plaintiffs, stating that Washington County’s policy violated voters’ due process rights and ordered notice and provisionary ballot options for those who had submitted a defective ballot.
The RNC appealed this decision, arguing that Washington County’s policy complied with election law and claiming judicial overreach by requiring notice-and-cure procedures. However, both lower courts ruled against the RNC.
Now, with its appeal before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the RNC argues inconsistency with prior decisions and asserts that there is no constitutional or statutory right for notice or an opportunity to cure defects in mail-in ballots.
The RNC also contends that requiring clerks in Washington County to inspect these flawed ballots before pre-canvassing violates provisions of Pennsylvania’s election code. They argue further across multiple filings that such practices should be determined by state legislatures rather than courts since they have potential implications for election integrity.
Both sides are expected to file briefs soon before awaiting a ruling from Pennsylvania Supreme Court which will significantly shape election procedures leading up November elections.