Pennsylvania’s requirement that election officials reject ballots with missing dates violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled on Aug. 26.
The requirement burdens the constitutional right to vote, and state officials have not provided enough evidence supporting their argument that state interests outweigh that burden, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said.
“While the Commonwealth has raised legitimate interests related to voting, we see only tangential links, at best, between these interests and the date requirement that Pennsylvania imposes on mail-in voters. The date requirement does not play a role in election administration, nor does it contribute an added measure of solemnity beyond that created by a signature. And only in the exceedingly rare circumstance does it contribute to the prosecution of voter fraud,” Circuit Judge D. Brooks Smith said in the 55-page ruling….