It’s going to come down to the wire. Who knows if we’ll have a winner tonight or in weeks.
But the Supreme Court made an election day ruling that could decide the race.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has put an end to efforts to count undated mail-in ballots in the 2024 election, reinforcing the state’s law requiring a handwritten date on these ballots.
This ruling reverses a previous decision by the Commonwealth Court, which had found the dating requirement unconstitutional.
The Pennsylvania GOP appealed the decision to the state’s highest court, which ruled that undated mail-in ballots would not be counted in the upcoming election.
Justice Kevin Dougherty sharply criticized the Commonwealth Court for its earlier ruling, issuing a strongly worded opinion.
“‘This Court will neither impose nor countenance substantial alterations to existing laws and procedures during the pendency of an ongoing election.’ We said those carefully chosen words only weeks ago. Yet they apparently were not heard in the Commonwealth Court, the very court where the bulk of election litigation unfolds,” Dougherty wrote.
Dougherty emphasized that the latest ruling reaffirms the court’s stance on the issue:
“Today’s order, which I join, rights the ship. And it sends a loud message to all courts in this Commonwealth: in declaring we would not countenance substantial alterations to existing laws and procedures during the pendency of an ongoing election, we said what we meant and meant what we said.”
Pennsylvania Republicans welcomed the decision, calling it a necessary defense of election integrity. RNC Chairman Michael Whatley expressed the GOP’s stance:
“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the law, and the dated ballot requirement will be in effect for this election. Democrats have repeatedly tried to eliminate this important ballot safeguard, and we have stopped them each time.”
He added, “We are committed to protecting critical ballot safeguards to ensure every ballot is cast and counted properly and will continue to fight across Pennsylvania to Protect the Vote.”
Supporters of counting undated ballots, including state officials, argue that this change would make the process easier for election workers.
The Pennsylvania Department of State even filed a brief supporting the removal of the date requirement, noting that the rule places a heavy burden on election workers who have to check each envelope manually.
“The requirement that county boards set aside mail ballots with declaration-date errors — and particularly the requirement that they set aside mail ballot envelopes with ‘incorrect’ dates — imposed a significant burden on county boards. Election workers must manually review every ballot envelope to determine whether it has a ‘correct’ date,” the brief stated, according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
This recent decision marks the second time this month that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has blocked Democrat-led efforts to remove the dating requirement, solidifying the rule ahead of the election.
But will it be enough to give Trump the win? Is there any way to even measure if this moves needles?
These questions are yet to be answered, so we’ll just have to wait.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
