Liberal efforts to “game the system” in a key swing state just suffered a major defeat.
On Friday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down a lower court ruling that had previously deemed a state law unconstitutional—a law that requires mail-in ballots to be dated correctly. Republicans across the nation are celebrating the decision.
HUGE election integrity win in Pennsylvania.
— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) September 13, 2024
Following legal action from the RNC and @PAGOP, the PA Supreme Court REJECTED a Democrat attempt to count undated ballots.
This makes mail voting in the Keystone State less susceptible to fraud.
We will keep fighting and winning!
“HUGE election integrity win in Pennsylvania,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley declared in a social media post. “We will keep fighting and winning!”
According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the state’s highest court determined that the lawsuit challenging the mail-in ballot requirement was out of the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Court, which initially ruled against the law. The lawsuit had targeted only the election boards in Philadelphia and Allegheny counties—home to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh—and the Pennsylvania Department of State. To be properly reviewed by the Commonwealth Court, all 67 county boards of elections should have been named as defendants, the Supreme Court ruled.
At the center of the controversy is a Pennsylvania law mandating that mail-in ballots must be signed and dated. The lawsuit, filed by liberal groups, alleged that election officials during the 2022 midterms violated constitutional rights by rejecting undated or incorrectly dated ballots. While the lower court sided with the liberal groups, the Supreme Court ruled in a close 4-3 decision that the Commonwealth Court overstepped by even hearing the case.
“The Commonwealth Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to review the matter given the failure to name the county boards of elections of all 67 counties,” the ruling stated. The court also found that naming Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, who leads the Department of State, did not suffice to resolve the issue.
While the ruling might seem narrow, it touches on far broader concerns. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are Democratic strongholds, raising questions from some Republicans about the impartiality of those elections officials. GOP State Sen. Kim Ward from Westmoreland County, west of Philadelphia, accused the liberal groups of attempting to rig the system.
“Petitioners’ attempt to game the system by naming only counties and state officials sympathetic to their legal position was soundly rejected,” she said. “While this may not be the end of this issue, this decision ensures that all interested and necessary parties will be heard if and when this issue again comes before the court.”
Matthew Haverstick, a lawyer for the Pennsylvania Republican Party, called the liberal lawsuit “collusive.”
“Hopefully outside groups will get the message and stop doing these collusive, set-up lawsuits, and instead name parties who actually have an interest in a case,” Haverstick said. “And perhaps next time the secretary will stand up for the constitutionality of state law.”
