Federal Judge Strikes Down Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballot Date Requirement

Judge Susan Paradise Baxter ruled that invalidating ballots over envelope date errors violates constitutional voting rights, overturning a key Republican-backed policy.

• U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter ruled that Pennsylvania election boards cannot reject mail-in ballots due to missing or incorrect dates on return envelopes.
• The judge found the date requirement unconstitutional, citing violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the lack of evidence supporting its necessity.
• The decision impacts all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, prohibiting enforcement of the date mandate, though appeals are expected.
• The lawsuit was brought by a Pennsylvania voter and Democratic-aligned organizations, challenging the rule as an unjust barrier to voting.
• The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is still deliberating a related case, leaving the broader legal battle over mail-in voting unresolved in this key battleground state.

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