State, national Republican parties join in appeal of mail-in ballot dating
The state and national Republican parties have jointly asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their argument that election ballots mailed in by Pennsylvania voters must be dated to be counted.
The Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee and the Pennsylvania Republican Party filed a petition Wednesday asking the nation’s highest court to hear their appeal.
Butler attorney Tom King and law firm partner Tom Breth represent the Pennsylvania Republican Party in the petition.
The petition asks the court hear an appeal of a ruling from the U.S. District Court in Erie that mail-in ballots don’t have to be dated.
The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals narrowly voted to uphold that ruling in an 8-7 vote in which all the judges on the panel participated, King said.
“The next step is up to the Supreme court. We’re hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court will agree to hear the case,” King said.
Legal challenges to the state law requiring voters to date mail-in ballot return envelopes began with the 2020 election, King said.
King filed the first appeal in Lehigh County, where a Republican election judge candidate would have won if undated ballots had been thrown out, he said.
“We won in Common Pleas Court, they won on appeal. Ultimately it was dismissed. This case has been all over the place,” King said. “This is the culmination of case to decide whether the legislature controls the voting process or the court controls the voting process,”
The state’s highest chief law enforcement officer is taking the Republicans’ side this time. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday on Thursday filed a brief in support of the Republicans’ position.
“It’s important, because when (Gov. Josh) Shapiro was AG (attorney general) he fought us at every step even though he was supposed to defend the law. He was the first AG I know of who fought the law. AG Sunday reversed that course,” King said in an email.
