GOP appeals federal judge’s mail-in ballot decision

Republicans are appealing a federal court ruling that found Pennsylvania’s date requirement for mail-in ballots violates the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, appealing the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

The appeal comes after Judge Susan. P. Baxter, who was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2017, wrote in an opinion this week that the date requirement “does not pass constitutional muster.” 

The original 2022 lawsuit was filed by Erie County voters Bette Eakin and Ines Massella. Other plaintiffs included John Fetterman’s U.S. Senate campaign, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The lawsuit asked the court to declare the date requirement unconstitutional and to enjoin county election boards from rejecting mail ballots that were improperly dated or lacked a handwritten date.

“Since there is no evidence that the date requirement serves any state interest, even a slight burden on voting rights cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny. Put another way, even the slightest burden that results from the enforcement of the date provision is too much when there is no counterbalance,” Baxter’s opinion reads.

“The evidence of record demonstrates that county boards across the Commonwealth discarded 10,657 otherwise valid ballots in the 2022 general election solely because voters either forgot to date them or used an incorrect date,” Baxter wrote. “Such disenfranchisement burdens the right to vote and there is no valid state interest to weigh this against.” 

On Wednesday, several GOP organizations signaled their intent to push back on the court’s decision. The Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania filed a notice of appeal indicating they would appeal the court’s decision to the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court also indicated in January that it would take up a separate case centered around whether voters are required to date mail-in ballot envelopes, according to Votebeat.

City & State has contacted the National Republican Congressional Committee for comment on the appeal. 

The court’s decision and the ensuing appeal come as Democrats and Republicans continue to spar over election policy at the federal and state levels. At the end of March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing state and local officials to record “the type of document that the applicant presented as documentary proof of United States citizenship” on voter registration forms, part of his administration’s push to verify voter eligibility. Under the executive order, acceptable proofs of citizenship include a U.S. passport, a REAL ID, a military ID and federal- and state-issued photo IDs. 

Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley praised Trump’s recent executive order, calling it a “huge win for election integrity.”

“On the campaign trail, President Trump promised voters he would act to secure our elections, and with this executive order he is doing just that. Requiring proof of citizenship, stopping voter fraud, and ending Democrat abuses of power are all commonsense steps to secure our elections,” Whatley said in a statement. 

The executive order has already sparked legal challenges, with the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union filing a lawsuit this week challenging Trump’s executive order, according to ABC News. 

While Trump’s actions at the federal level have resulted in lawsuits and opposition, Pennsylvania state lawmakers appear a little more willing to compromise on hot-button voting reforms. 

In the state House, Democrats and Republicans have joined forces on legislation that would require voters in Pennsylvania to show ID for every election, and House Speaker Joanna McClinton indicated to The Philadelphia Inquirer in March that she would be open to stronger voter ID provisions as part of a broader set of election-law reforms.