On Tuesday, Pennsylvania's highest court ruled that a law allowing voters to mail in their ballots without being required to provide a reason is constitutional. The move means the expanded vote-by-mail option will likely be in effect for this year's Senate and gubernatorial races.
“We find no restriction in our Constitution on the General Assembly's ability to create universal mail-in voting,” wrote Justice Christine Donohue in the majority opinion.
The state Supreme Court's ruling reversed a lower court's January ruling which ruled the phrase “offer to vote” in the state's constitution meant voters must show up to a polling place in person unless they fall under a specific exception. However, the ruling was put on hold as the state Supreme Court reviewed an appeal brought by Gov. Tom Wolf (D).
The justices ruled 5-2 in favor of Gov. Wolf's argument.
“Today's court ruling definitively asserts that mail-in voting is a legal and constitutional method for Pennsylvania voters,” Gov. Wolf said in a statement. “By upholding the law, which the General Assembly approved in 2019 in a bipartisan manner, this ruling assures that mail-in voting remains in place and Pennsylvanians will be able to cast their ballot legally in person or by mail without any disruption or confusion.”
The Hill first reported:
“We conclude that the phrase ‘offer to vote' does not establish in-person voting as an elector qualification or otherwise mandate in-person voting,” the state supreme court ruled on Tuesday.
Instead, the court found the phrase to help define an election district residency requirement described in other parts of the state constitution.
“The legislature has the authority to provide that votes can be cast by mail by all qualified electors,” the court ruled. “The only restraint on the legislature's design of a method of voting is that it must maintain the secrecy of the vote.”
The Keystone State's Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D), who is running for governor praised the ruling on Twitter.
Last month, 14 state Republican lawmakers sued to get the mail-in voting law thrown out, arguing the law becomes void when any of its requirements are struck down in court.
According to Fox News:
The pending lawsuit says the “non-severability” provision was triggered by a May 20 decision by a panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals over the law's requirement that mail-in ballots have a voter's handwritten date on the outside envelope. The federal appeals court panel found that a handwritten date had no bearing on a voter's eligibility in a Lehigh County judicial race last November.
More than half of states now allow no-excuse absentee voting with the Keystone state joining them in 2019.
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“Mail-in voting” makes voting a fraudulent joke. Our third-world “democracy” is now permanent.
Following CA
Did the Court state that there was a definite date the ballots must be received to be counted, or are these ballots allowed to wander in after the election again? I don’t think there are postal markings on in-State mail in PA…so when the ballot was mailed would be impossible to track…did the Court spell out how to stop post Election Day received ballots from being counted? Also, if I remember correctly, some areas of Philadelphia wouldn’t accommodate Republican poll watchers….was that disgraceful action dealt with. Just thinking of the disgraceful events in the 2020 election is enough to create agita.
it is just fraud so the dems can cheat.. to all these aholes that voting for this i want you to tell me how pa sent out 1.8 million mail in ballots but some how got 2.5 million mail in ballots. they cheated and the whole world knows it.
to all these stupid fools that voted for this can you tell me how pa sent out 1.8 million mail in ballots but some how got back 2.5 million mail in ballots .. they cheated, the whole world knows it and you just told them its ok and do it again. your corrupt just like they are
How dum is this state to allow any mail ins
Just another way of cheating and lying that have been doing, just keep on doing it. If you can’t show up to vote, you shouldn’t be able to vote unless there is a good reason. Everybody is let off early if there working to give them time to go vote so why can’t you go vote. People that don’t have jobs, have no reason not to be able to go vote. Just another ring around the rosy
, just to justify corrupt voting.
As I remember in the last election in philadelphia, there were a number of precincts where supposedly there was not ONE(1) vote for President Trump. So, would one expect anything different from their so-called highest court in that state. I live in californication and it is exactly the same here. Ain’t nevah gonna get no bettah – this co-called country is DONE, TOAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
well — it sure is easy to see where pennsylvania stands with voter integrity — they don’t want any. Cities like philadelphia where voter fraud was rampant(city officials admitted it) will remain corrupt to the core. philadelphia — a city that once housed the greatest people this country had to offer at the time is now a libtard/demoRAT/corrupt/anti-America scum that houses nothing but criminals and lowlifes who know they can’t win with out voter fraud.Seems this country is getting close to being renamed to Amerizuela !!!!!
Liberal Judges voted for a liberal election scam to legalize stealing elections.
It seems too me that they want voter fraud, in essence too win elections There are over 700,00 unregistered voters on the Pa. voter registration list and it has not been cleaned up for yrs. Those dead voters and people who mover away etc. are still voting in elections in Pa. Fraud is the mainstay in Pa. PERIOD