Pa. Supreme Court permits voters to cast provisional ballots if mail ballot was rejected

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that voters may cast provisional ballots after their mail ballots are rejected for failing to follow procedural directions.

The commonwealth's Supreme Court made the decision on Wednesday, which will likely affect thousands out of the millions of mail ballots cast, The New York Times reported.

The 4-3 decision said the Butler County board of elections are required to count provisional ballots that were cast by several voters whose mail ballots were rejected for not including the mandatory secrecy envelopes. Pennsylvania voters are required to sign and date the secrecy envelopes before mailing their ballots.

The ruling allows Pennsylvania voters whose mail ballots were rejected for lacking the secrecy envelope or missing or having inaccurate information on the envelope to cast provisional ballots.

Provisional ballots are only counted after the voter's registration is verified. Many of the counties in the commonwealth will notify voters if their mail ballots are rejected over procedural reasons and allow them to cast provisional ballots.

The Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania GOP brought the appeal to the commonwealth's Supreme Court, arguing that the Butler County board of elections had correctly rejected the provisional ballots after the mail ballots had also been rejected.

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party participated in appealing the case.

“While Republicans try to block your vote, Democrats are protecting it and standing up for the principle that every eligible voter has a right to make their voice heard, no matter how they vote,” spokespersons for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee said in a joint statement. “This ruling reaffirms that principle.”