The Pennsylvania Supreme Court docket overturned a decrease court docket ruling, reinstating the requirement for voters up to now their mail-in poll envelopes.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court docket issued a call on Sept. 13 that upholds a requirement in the important thing battleground state that voters should embody correct dates on the outside envelopes of their mail-in ballots for the votes to be counted.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court docket discovered that the Commonwealth Court docket didn’t have the authority to assessment that case as a result of the plaintiffs didn’t embody all 67 county election boards as defendants. Regardless that they included Al Schmidt, the secretary of the Commonwealth, as a defendant, that alone wasn’t sufficient to provide the Commonwealth Court docket authority to resolve the case.
The excessive court docket additionally declined a request by the plaintiffs to make use of extraordinary jurisdiction powers (underneath 42 Pa.C.S. § 726) that permit the Pennsylvania Supreme Court docket to take over circumstances from decrease courts when there’s a important public curiosity or an pressing situation needing quick decision.
“A immediate and definitive ruling on the constitutional query introduced on this enchantment is of paramount public significance inasmuch as it’ll have an effect on the counting of ballots within the upcoming normal election. Subsequently, I’d train this Court docket’s King Bench authority over the moment dispute and order that the matter be submitted on the briefs,” wrote Wecht in dissent, with Chief Justice Debra Todd and Justice Christine Donohue becoming a member of.
King’s Bench authority is a broader and extra highly effective device than the plaintiffs’ extraordinary jurisdiction request. It permits the Pennsylvania Supreme Court docket to step in and rule on pressing issues of public significance at any stage of a case, even when procedural hurdles exist.
Wecht and the opposite dissenting justices additionally argued that the case ought to have been determined based mostly on the written authorized paperwork already filed slightly than on the idea of probably newly scheduled oral arguments, highlighting their view that you will need to settle the constitutional query of whether or not Pennsylvania’s mail-ballot date requirement violates the Free and Equal Elections Clause of the Pennsylvania Structure, forward of the fast-approaching Nov. 5 presidential election.
The case was introduced by a coalition of 9 advocacy teams, together with the Black Political Empowerment Venture, League of Girls Voters of Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh United, with co-counsel from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania. The teams challenged the legality of implementing the date requirement for mail-in ballots, arguing that it violated the Pennsylvania Structure’s provision for “free and equal” elections. The Commonwealth Court docket initially dominated in favor of the plaintiffs, suspending enforcement of the courting rule in two key counties—Philadelphia and Allegheny.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court docket’s determination to reverse this ruling permits enforcement of the rule that mail-in ballots with date errors may be invalidated. The choice may have an effect on 1000’s of votes in what is anticipated to be a extremely aggressive presidential election in Pennsylvania, a key swing state.
A request for touch upon the ruling and whether or not ACLU of Pennsylvania intends to enchantment the choice to the U.S. Supreme Court docket was not instantly returned.
“This can be a big win to guard the vote in Pennsylvania that can safe commonsense mail poll safeguards and assist voters solid their ballots with confidence. The Keystone State will probably be completely vital on this election, and the Supreme Court docket has determined a significant victory for election integrity,” they mentioned.
The ruling underscores the continued pressure between election integrity measures and voting entry because the 2024 election approaches.