Baxter v. Philadelphia Board of Elections

In April 2025, Public Rights Project filed an amicus brief on behalf of 34 county commissioners in support of voter challenges to Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballot dating laws.

The Commonwealth Court previously ruled that requiring counties to reject mail-in ballots with misdated and undated envelopes is unconstitutional. We are urging the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to affirm this decision.

Our brief argues that voters’ handwritten date on a ballot does not help deter voter fraud and plays no role in helping election administrators determine if a ballot is received on time. Rejecting misdated or undated ballots disenfranchises voters, especially older voters and other people who rely on mail-in voting. Rejecting ballots for a clerical error also sows doubt among the public about the integrity of the election system.