On Tuesday, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals declined to review a prior ruling affirming a mandate for voters to include dates on mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state.
In late March, a 3rd Circuit panel determined that the state's requirement for dates on mail-in ballots does not conflict with the Civil Rights Act.
The 3rd Circuit opted not to reconsider the case en banc, reaffirming that mail-in ballots must contain the accurate date on the outer envelopes to be considered valid.
U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter ruled in November that mail-in ballots lacking a proper date should still be counted if received on time, asserting that rejecting them would violate the Civil Rights Act. Baxter referenced over 7,600 mail-in ballots across 12 counties that were invalidated during the 2022 midterms due to missing or inaccurate dates.
The appeals court subsequently determined that the Civil Rights Act did not pertain to ballot dates. Instead, it emphasized that the Act focuses solely on the process of establishing a voter's eligibility to cast a ballot.
Pennsylvania is anticipated to be among the most fiercely contested battleground states in the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.
