PA Supreme Court Refuses to Rehear Mail-In Ballot Missing Date Appeal and Others As Too Close to the Election

Brian Beihl — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 15:33:47 +0000

From the American Democracy Minute Radio Report!

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Oct. 8, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court refused to rehear a challenge to mail-in ballots with missing or inaccurate dates on the merits, after dismissing the case on a technicality in September. But it also denied a GOP challenge of counties which notified mail-in voters of a mistake, and allowed them to ‘cure’ their ballot.

Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s “Purcell Principle” as justification, the court ruled Oct. 5th that these and most other voting-related cases were now too close to the election. “This Court will neither impose nor countenance substantial alterations to existing laws and procedures during the pendency of an ongoing election,” it said.

The missing date decision could affect tens of thousands of Pennsylvania voters who mistakenly don’t date, or misdate, their mail-in ballots. Under the Commonwealth’s law those ballots are not counted. The ACLU has also appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court using the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which forbids minor mistakes from disqualifying a voter, but it is unclear if, or when, the high court would consider the appeal.

In her dissent, Chief Justice Debra Todd wrote that the case would be an appropriate use of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s “King’s Bench” power, saying, “Where, as here, the issue concerns the fundamental right to vote, and where the consequences of inaction risk undermining the electoral process, I deem it imperative to act now.”

We have a link to the decisions at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Pennsylvania Supreme Court – (Missing Date Case) ORDER – PER CURIAM
Pennsylvania Supreme Court – (Missing Date Case) DISSENTING STATEMENT – CHIEF JUSTICE TODD
Pennsylvania Supreme Court – (Notification & Curing Case) ORDER – PER CURIAM

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU PA, PA Conference of the NAACP, Common Cause PA, Black Political Empowerment Project, League of Women Voters PA

Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
USA Vote Foundation – Registration, Eligibility, State Election Office Links
Vote.Gov – Register to Vote in Your State
Vote.Org – Check Your Registration to Vote

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#Democracy #DemocracyNews #PASupremeCourt #MailBallots #PurcellPrinciple

The post PA Supreme Court Refuses to Rehear Mail-In Ballot Missing Date Appeal and Others As Too Close to the Election appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

What is the ‘Materiality Provision’ of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and How Can it Help Protect Voters?

Brian Beihl — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 16:35:39 +0000

From the American Democracy Minute Radio Report!

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Oct. 3, 2024

Photo: Bob Fitch photography archive, Stanford University Libraries

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Our report on court challenges to undated or misdated mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania mentioned the “Materiality Provision” of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Just what is the Materiality Provision, and how can it help protect voters?

In question are ballot envelopes from otherwise eligible voters, received on time and correct except for a missing or incorrect date on the outer envelope. Pennsylvania’s election law invalidates those ballots, and as many as 10,000 voters were affected in 2022.

The materiality provision, part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s Title 1, was designed to keep racist election officials from rejecting voter registrations for minor mistakes – used as a voter suppression tactic throughout the South. For instance, White voters were given assistance and alerted to mistakes, while Black voters were disenfranchised for a simple spelling error.

For years, federal courts found that Title 1 applies to the whole voting process, and ruled that missing dates, envelopes, and postmarks are “immaterial” to the validity of the ballot. Only recently have Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and other Conservative judges argued that it should apply ONLY to registration, and overturned such appeals.

If a voter does everything else right, but makes a trivial mistake, shouldn’t we make every effort to honor the intent of the voter? The ACLU’s high court appeal may answer that question.

We’ve linked more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.