In a significant ruling, U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter declared on Tuesday that mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania without accurate handwritten dates on their exterior envelopes must still be counted if they are received in time. The judge argued that rejecting such ballots violates federal civil rights law, a decision that could have implications for the 2024 presidential election in this key battleground state.

The ruling came as a result of a lawsuit filed by several Pennsylvania groups, including state chapters of the NAACP, League of Women Voters, Common Cause, and the Black Political Empowerment Project, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). These groups contended that refusing to count mail ballots lacking accurate handwritten dates on their return envelopes disenfranchises voters and violates provisions of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Republican Party has been actively fighting to get such ballots thrown out, as part of their campaign to invalidate mail-in ballots and mail-in voting in Pennsylvania. This effort stemmed from former President Donald Trump's baseless claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. However, Judge Baxter, a Trump appointee, sided with the ACLU and the voting rights groups, stating that throwing out valid votes due to a minor paperwork error is both undemocratic and illegal.

The judge emphasized that the date on the outer envelope is irrelevant in determining whether a ballot was received in time or if the voter is qualified to vote. The important date for casting the ballot is the date it is received, not the date on the envelope. Baxter noted that county boards of election did not use the date on the outer envelope to determine when a voter's mail ballot was received in the November 2022 election.

The lawsuit highlighted the fact that in the 2022 midterm election, more than 16,000 mail-in ballots were disqualified because they lacked secrecy envelopes, proper signatures, or dates. Democratic voters accounted for over two-thirds of the canceled ballots. The Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees elections statewide, stated that the state court decision to bar mail-in ballots without accurate handwritten dates resulted in otherwise valid votes being thrown out.

The ruling by Judge Baxter contradicts a previous decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which unanimously barred officials from counting undated mail-in ballots. The state Supreme Court had directed county boards of elections to "segregate and preserve" those ballots. However, the justices were divided over whether making the envelope dates mandatory under state law would violate provisions of federal civil rights law, which set the stage for the federal court ruling.

The ruling is expected to face further legal challenges and likely be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. The court's conservative majority has previously supported state laws that require voters to write the date on the return envelope when submitting their mail-in ballots. The Republican National Committee, a defendant in the lawsuit, has not yet provided a comment on the decision.

Voting rights groups and advocates see this ruling as a significant victory in the ongoing battle to protect voting rights, especially as Republicans and conservative advocacy groups continue to push for stricter voting laws across the country. Susan Gobreski, a vice president of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, hailed the decision, emphasizing the importance of ensuring complete and unfettered access to the ballot box.

As the legal battle over the validity of undated mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania continues, the outcome of this case could have broader implications for voting rights and voter access in future elections.