The Republican National Committee (RNC) petitioned the Supreme Court on Wednesday to reverse a ruling that requires Pennsylvania to count undated and misdated mail-in ballots, saying its logic transforms the courts into “weapons of political warfare.”
The technical requirements for Pennsylvania mail ballots have been the subject of extensive litigation ever since the state passed universal mail voting in 2019.
It’s a battle only heightened by the Keystone State’s outsized role as a swing state in presidential contests. Disputed mail ballots in Pennsylvania have totaled thousands in recent elections.
The RNC’s petition urges the justices to review an appeals ruling from last August, which found the state’s instruction to not count ballots that lack a proper date on the outer return envelope imposes an unconstitutional burden on Pennsylvanians’ right to vote.
“Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballot dating requirement is a simple, commonsense safeguard that protects the integrity of the state’s elections,” RNC Chair Joe Gruters said in a statement.
“Counting ballots that are missing basic requirements like a date violates Pennsylvania law and undermines confidence in elections,” Gruters continued. “We urge the Supreme Court to take this case and reaffirm that states can enforce reasonable election rules like Pennsylvania’s date requirements.”
The RNC said the petition was filed Wednesday. It has not yet been posted to the court’s public docket, which often takes several days.
The justices will review the RNC’s request at a closed-door meeting in the coming months. The Supreme Court only agrees to take up roughly 1 to 2 percent of the cases it receives.
The RNC’s argument latches on to sentiments advanced by U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove, a former criminal defense attorney to President Trump whom he tapped last year for a spot on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Bove wanted to reconsider the lower ruling, but his colleagues outvoted him.
“For a voter with a functioning pen, sufficient ink, and average hand dexterity, this should take less than five seconds,” Bove wrote of the state’s requirements.
The appeal stems from a challenge brought by Pennsylvania resident Bette Eakin, whose mail ballot was rejected in 2022. She’s joined by entities affiliated with the Democratic Party and a teacher’s union.
At the center of the battle is a legal balancing test courts use to determine if a state’s election law unconstitutionally burdens a person’s right to vote. The RNC’s appeal urges the justices to rein in the test, saying lower judges are improperly intervening in election disputes.
“At bottom, the Anderson-Burdick framework permits federal courts to engage in freewheeling judicial balancing and arrive at whatever conclusion they prefer when adjudicating a challenge to a State’s voting rule,” the RNC wrote.
The Supreme Court has declined to get involved previously in the fight over Pennsylvania’s mail ballot dating requirement, but that effort involved a separate lawsuit and different legal arguments.
Already this term, the court has agreed to review a case involving the RNC and mail voting.
On March 23, the justices will hear arguments in Mississippi’s bid to count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. The RNC convinced a lower court to invalidate the state’s practice.
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