Supreme Court tosses Pennsylvania mail-in vote ruling

As voters in Philadelphia begin to receive their mail-in ballots, an order by the nation’s top court sparked discussion Tuesday over which votes should be counted in next month’s midterm elections.

The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a federal court’s ruling that mail-in ballots that lack a date — or are marked with the wrong date — must nonetheless be considered a valid vote.

But Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman maintained that counties should count those undated ballots, in accord with state guidance issued to local officials late last month.

In a statement, she said the order “was not based on the merits of the issue” and referred to a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decision that found that missing dates should not disqualify votes.

“It provides no justification for counties to exclude ballots based on a minor omission, and we expect that counties will continue to comply with their obligation to count all legal votes,” Chapman continued.

The Supreme Court’s order concerned a case stemming from a 2021 general election judicial race in Lehigh County, in which the winner depended on whether improperly dated mail-in ballots were added to the tally.

Republican leaders in Harrisburg, along with Mehmet Oz’s U.S. Senate campaign, filed briefs before the justices that supported throwing out the decision.

While the court vacated the ruling, it did not opine on the issue, opening up the possibility for further litigation. The case is now moot because the results of the Lehigh County race have been certified and the Democratic candidate who benefitted from the votes was sworn in.

“The plain language of the Pennsylvania Election Code and the legislative intent is clear: ballots must be dated,” state House of Representatives GOP spokesman Jason Gottesman said in a statement Tuesday.

Gottesman said Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration should focus on reforming election law, rather than interpreting court rulings and issuing “contradictory and confusing guidance.”

County election officials, Chapman said, are expected to follow state guidance and those who don’t could face legal action.

Other guidelines include that mail-in ballots should be counted if voters use tape on either the inner or outer envelopes. Unsigned envelopes will not be considered valid, according to Pennsylvania Department of State regulations.

Chapman, during a news briefing Tuesday, said she expects results in Pennsylvania will potentially be delayed for several days due to the crush of mail-in and absentee votes.

Unlike in some other states, election officials in Pennsylvania have to wait until 7 a.m. on Election Day to begin counting mail ballots.

“This delay does not mean anything nefarious is happening,” Chapman said. “It simply means that the process is working as it’s designed to work in Pennsylvania and that election officials are doing their job to count every vote.”

A little more than 1.1 million absentee and mail-in ballots have been requested statewide, she added, and about 75% of those submissions have come from Democrats. Registered voters have until Nov. 1 to apply.

Nearly 128,000 people have applied to vote by mail in Philadelphia, according to a new state data dashboard.

Two trucks delivered an initial shipment of ballots bound for city voters to the U.S. Postal Service on Monday, according to the City Commissioners Office, which administers elections in Philadelphia.

Voters can also now go to Room 140 at City Hall, request a mail ballot, fill it out and return it in one trip. The service will be available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Seventeen ballot dropboxes that are open 24/7 have been installed, election officials said. For a complete list of locations, go to https://vote.phila.gov. Residents can only drop off their own ballots unless a person who is unable to submit a vote fills out special paperwork.