Pennsylvania Can’t Reject Misdated or Undated Ballot Envelopes, Court Rules

A U.S. district judge said the dating requirement violates voters’ constitutional rights without improving election security.

Mail-in ballots are displayed during a processing demonstration at the Board of Elections office in Doylestown, Pa., on Sept. 30, 2024. Photo illustration by Hannah Beier/Getty Images

A federal judge has ruled that Pennsylvania’s requirement for voters to date the outer envelopes of their mail-in ballots is unconstitutional.

In a March 31 decision, Judge Susan Paradise Baxter of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania sided with a group of Democratic organizations and an Erie County voter who challenged the law after the 2022 general election.