PA Supreme Court rules for RNC, declares undated mail-in ballots may not be counted

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday ruled for the Republican National Committee, holding that undated mail-in ballots may not be counted.

The RNC filed two lawsuits last week to stop the counting of "illegal" ballots. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled before the election that mail-in ballots that don't have proper dates or signatures would not be included in the official results.

The court ordered on Monday that all of the commonwealth's counties were to not count mail-in ballots that arrived on Election Day but didn't include dates written on the envelopes by voters, NPR reported.

"Following our latest RNC lawsuit, today the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled yet again that undated ballots CANNOT BE COUNTED," RNC Chairman Michael Whatley posted on X on Monday. "No more excuses. Election officials in Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and other counties have absolutely no choice but to reject illegal ballots. We will hold them to it."

Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia (D) said during a county commission meeting on Thursday that she would ignore the earlier ruling of the commonwealth's Supreme Court.

"I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country," Ellis-Marseglia said.

"People violate laws anytime they want. So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention. There’s nothing more important than counting votes," she added, failing to distinguish between legal votes and illegal votes.

Bucks County GOP posted on X on Monday: "We won! The PA Supreme Court issued a ruling today ordering that all 67 PA County Boards Of Election shall comply with their earlier ruling and SHALL NOT COUNT misdated and undated ballots. This is a victory for election integrity and the rule of law."

"We just confirmed with our attorneys that the Bucks County Board of Elections will comply with todays PA Supreme Court Order will not count undated and misdated ballots and these votes will be removed from the County’s vote totals," the county Republican Party added. "We will continue to keep you updated throughout the state mandated recount process."

Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt (R) on Wednesday announced a recount of the Senate race after the results of the race fell within the 0.5% threshold that automatically triggers the recount.