The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled yesterday that undated mail-in and absentee ballots cannot be counted.
The judicial decision serves as an enormous victory for the GOP and election integrity as the crucial 2022 midterms draw nearer.
The decision means that all county boards of elections within Pennsylvania are now forced to “segregate and preserve any ballots contained in undated or incorrectly dated outer envelopes.”
Once the dust from the midterms settles, it’ll be interesting to see just how many invalid ballots would’ve been counted had it not been for this Supreme Court ruling.
The ruling comes after the acting secretary of the commonwealth, Leigh Chapman (D) told counties to ignore a previous U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said updated mail-in ballots shouldn’t be counted in the overall vote.
"The ruling came after acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Leigh Chapman said that the state would count undated ballots despite the Supreme Court vacating a lower court ruling …"https://t.co/lJ7zPA8Vwv
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 2, 2022
The Republican National Committee filed suit shortly thereafter.
The RNC and Pennsylvania GOP asserted that Chapman’s recklessness violated state law, which clearly states that voters must properly date their ballots. Mail-in ballots for this election cycle featured clearly visible words like “today’s date required” and directions such as “sign and date.”
We’ll never know the exact number of counties that would’ve followed Chapman’s directive, but it’s likely that several blue counties would willingly oblige.
Yesterday RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel proudly claimed victory.
“Following an RNC, NRCC, and PAGOP lawsuit, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has made clear that incorrectly dated and undated mail ballots can not be counted,” she said.
“Republicans went to court, and now Democrats and all counties have to follow the law: this is a milestone in Republicans’ ongoing efforts to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat in Pennsylvania and nationwide.”
Despite the skepticism brought about by Democrats’ hard push to legalize mail-in voting in blue states across the U.S., the good news in Pennsylvania isn’t the only reason that many in the Republican base now feel a welcome sense of optimism.
The RNC won its lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D-MI), who issued last-minute guidance in an effort to restrict the rights of poll challengers.
Another recent win came when Wake County judge ruled in favor of the RNC against the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), which also attempted to restrict poll watchers.
“Election integrity begins by following the law, and this decision is a big win for Pennsylvanians,” said Jason Snead, the executive director of the Honest Elections Project.
