The Supreme Court tossed out a lower court ruling that had permitted undated mail-in ballots to be counted against the law in Pennsylvania — but the Commonwealth’s secretary of state has other ideas. Immediately after the court’s decision was made public, Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of State Leigh M. Chapman released a statement saying the court’s ruling does not affect the decision of the 3rd Circuit “in any way.”

“Today’s order from the U.S. Supreme Court vacating the Third Circuit’s decision on mootness grounds was not based on the merits of the issue and does not affect the prior decision of Commonwealth Court in any way,” Chapman wrote. “It provides no justification for counties to exclude ballots based on a minor omission, and we expect that counties will continue to comply with their obligation to count all legal votes.”

This directive by Chapman will only result in more chaos and confusion for voters, poll workers, and election clerks, plus likely inconsistencies between how different localities handle erroneous ballots. Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballots for this election cycle already contain wording that reads “today’s date required” and clear instructions for voters to “sign and date” their ballots.

The Federalist:

This kind of blatant flouting of election law is nothing new in Pennsylvania. Back during the 2020 election, then-Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar issued guidance that did not comport with Pennsylvania’s election code.

As a result of Chapman’s statement, some of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties will follow her directive while others will follow state law and clear ballot instructions, meaning the inconsistencies and irregularities that plagued the 2020 election show no signs of stopping.

Pennsylvania to ignore Supreme Court’s recent order regarding mail-in ballots

by Elad Hakim RSBN News, October 13, 2022:

Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court issued an order in the case of Migliori v. Lehigh County Board of Elections, which could impact future elections.

In the order, the court vacated the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and ordered the appellate court to dismiss the case as moot. As reported by Fox News, the appellate court ruled that ballots in undated envelopes must be counted, that a handwritten date had no bearing on a voter’s eligibility to vote, and that invalidating such undated ballots would violate voters’ civil rights.

The Supreme Court’s order in Migliori’s case invalidated the appellate court’s decision and prevented other states in the circuit from relying on the decision as precedent.

However, the federal case is not the only case of this nature in Pennsylvania. In a similar case (McCormick v. Chapman), filed in Pennsylvania state court, the state court also granted McCormick’s request to count undated mail-in ballots.

In light of the various opinions, on Sept. 26, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of State released updated guidance which stated, “Any ballot-return envelope that is undated or dated with an incorrect date but that has been timely received by the county shall be included in the pre-canvass and canvass.”

Despite the Supreme Court’s recent order in Migliori, acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman recently announced that Pennsylvania election officials should continue counting undated envelopes.

As reported by Fox News, Chapman stated:

“Every county is expected to include undated ballots in their official returns for the Nov. 8 election, consistent with the Department of State’s guidance. That guidance followed the most recent ruling of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court holding that both Pennsylvania and federal law prohibit excluding legal votes because the voter omitted an irrelevant date on the ballot return envelope.”

“Today’s order from the U.S. Supreme Court vacating the Third Circuit’s decision on mootness grounds was not based on the merits of the issue and does not affect the prior decision of Commonwealth Court in any way. It provides no justification for counties to exclude ballots based on a minor omission, and we expect that counties will continue to comply with their obligation to count all legal votes.”

In essence, the crux of Chapman’s argument appears to be that the Supreme Court’s opinion does not impact the decision rendered by the Pennsylvania state court(s) allowing undated ballots to be counted. Generally speaking, Supreme Court decisions are only binding on state courts if they involve the Constitution, constitutional issues, or federal law.

Here, while the issue, in part, involves the interpretation and/or applicability of Pennsylvania law, federal law is also possibly involved. As Democracy Docket recently noted, “Within the span of a week, a federal circuit court and a state appellate court both concluded that not counting undated mail-in ballots would violate the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

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Photo: Alamy

Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court issued an order in the case of Migliori v. Lehigh County Board of Elections, which could impact future elections.

In the order, the court vacated the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and ordered the appellate court to dismiss the case as moot. As reported by Fox News, the appellate court ruled that ballots in undated envelopes must be counted, that a handwritten date had no bearing on a voter’s eligibility to vote, and that invalidating such undated ballots would violate voters’ civil rights.

 

 

The Supreme Court’s order in Migliori’s case invalidated the appellate court’s decision and prevented other states in the circuit from relying on the decision as precedent.

However, the federal case is not the only case of this nature in Pennsylvania. In a similar case (McCormick v. Chapman), filed in Pennsylvania state court, the state court also granted McCormick’s request to count undated mail-in ballots.

In light of the various opinions, on Sept. 26, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of State released updated guidance which stated, “Any ballot-return envelope that is undated or dated with an incorrect date but that has been timely received by the county shall be included in the pre-canvass and canvass.”

 

 

Despite the Supreme Court’s recent order in Migliori, acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman recently announced that Pennsylvania election officials should continue counting undated envelopes.

As reported by Fox News, Chapman stated:

“Every county is expected to include undated ballots in their official returns for the Nov. 8 election, consistent with the Department of State’s guidance. That guidance followed the most recent ruling of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court holding that both Pennsylvania and federal law prohibit excluding legal votes because the voter omitted an irrelevant date on the ballot return envelope.”

“Today’s order from the U.S. Supreme Court vacating the Third Circuit’s decision on mootness grounds was not based on the merits of the issue and does not affect the prior decision of Commonwealth Court in any way. It provides no justification for counties to exclude ballots based on a minor omission, and we expect that counties will continue to comply with their obligation to count all legal votes.”

In essence, the crux of Chapman’s argument appears to be that the Supreme Court’s opinion does not impact the decision rendered by the Pennsylvania state court(s) allowing undated ballots to be counted. Generally speaking, Supreme Court decisions are only binding on state courts if they involve the Constitution, constitutional issues, or federal law.

Here, while the issue, in part, involves the interpretation and/or applicability of Pennsylvania law, federal law is also possibly involved. As Democracy Docket recently noted, “Within the span of a week, a federal circuit court and a state appellate court both concluded that not counting undated mail-in ballots would violate the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

For now, it does not appear that Chapman intends to follow the Supreme Court’s recent order. Moreover, the Constitution does not provide the Supreme Court with a mechanism to enforce its orders, as this is up to the other branches of government. However, so long as the court’s order remains in place, any Pennsylvania official who defies the order could possibly end up in federal court.

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D

James Davis

1 year ago

Well….there are laws against putting a .45 cal. slug into the S.O.S. and election officials skulls. Shall we just ignore those laws?

9

D

TD

1 year ago

Lawsuits, DOJ prosecutions, or FBI morning raids on Pennsylvania officials.

These guys are suppose to enforce the laws, but will they?

9

dad

1 year ago

Reply to  TD

Merrick the wind up terrorist? Nah.. To busy raiding schools

4

Andre

1 year ago

The only reason they want to defy the Supreme Court ruling on this is because they want to fraudulently count fake mail-in ballots. It happened before and they blatantly want to do it agian.

14

fir1

1 year ago

Reply to  Andre

As long as nothing is done to hold them fully accountable – these P’s OS don’t even listen to the SCOTUS anymore –

5

D

CharlieSeattle

1 year ago

Arrest the leftist traitor Judges!

13

D

Sick and Tired in Ohio

1 year ago

Election officials in 2020 “wrote” their own laws, illegally, without regard to the PA legislature. They intend to cheat again in 2022? Chapman has declared herself above the lawmakers?

9

Eric Vieira

1 year ago

Reply to  Sick and Tired in Ohio

Immediately arrest and suspend her of her duties for contempt of court.

8

D

Roger Grant

1 year ago

Reply to  Sick and Tired in Ohio

Definitely Chapman has declared herself above the law. She is the law.

6

Eric Vieira

1 year ago

On thing is sure. The election officials should count all these contestable ballots SEPARATELY from the others. Then in case of litigation further on, it will be easy to apply corrections.

5

dad

1 year ago

Reply to  Eric Vieira

We lost half a million votes in Minnesota… No one knows where they went. I got that from one of the politicians’ kids

4

k33j88

1 year ago

What is in the water that PA can do whatever seems necessary at the time of elections? I understand that this is the united STATES of America, but each state is now an entity answerable only to themselves? Are state election official decisions the last train out of town? Has the Supreme Court lost all credibility concerning constitutional, appellate court matters? Is this charade the result of bidens weaponizing of federal alphabet soup agencies? The dual justice system, it seems, is now legitimate. If Betsy Ross was still alive, what kind of secondary flag would she weave? Can you see it now waving across the land?

3

D

WadeBaker

1 year ago

Reply to  k33j88

The Pa supreme court is leftist, and the republican majority legislature is mostly lame.

6

D

arthur facteau

1 year ago

Well, maybe we should just ignore that states election results then, see how that works out for them…

7

dad

1 year ago

throw the results there out and send in the feds to redo it. Arrest those responsible for federal felony court. Of course if the democrats get back in, we are on the road to the US dying, and no law broken will result in anything

3

D

nag2

1 year ago

Reply to  dad

Election law is a state issue not federal.

0

D

Roger Grant

1 year ago

do we still need courts? oh, yeah, we do. To handled all the lawfare prosecutions and kangaroo proceedings.

1

aebe

1 year ago

Throw them out, every one. Un and antiAmerican creatures should be allowed no place in our Country.
Throw them out.

Constitutional~Carry

3

JesseBrogan

1 year ago

The duties of the Penn. Secretary of State apparently include ignoring the law when it might support Penn. election that count “fraudulant” ballots.

1

Pete

1 year ago

When do we start rounding up these marxist traitors and executing them as justice requires?

-1

D

Anthony Bajada

1 year ago

venganza

0

fir1

1 year ago

chapmans lying out her ass – she quotes ” legal ” votes when what they’re dealing with are clearly illegal votes.She needs to be held accountable for willfully breaking the law in order to ILLEGALLY undermine an election –

1

Walter Sieruk

1 year ago

Tom Wolf well understood that his taking part in that crooked rigged Pa election fraud in November 3ed 2020 fraud in which involved mail in voting farce play its sinister larger schemed National election hoax. Wolf knows a very effective voter cheating ploy and he’s will not give it up.

After all the outcome was that Joe Biden is now sitting in the Oval Office of the White House masquerading as a real, genuine, US President. The terrible reality is the Biden is a pseudo “president.”

Joe Biden by willingly allowing schemed election fraud/hoax to occur make it appear that he had “won” the national November 3, 2020, national election is totally unconscionable of him and likewise makes him corrupt unethical.

This is because Biden is such a loser that he had to have the help of others in power who are much more intelligent than him to scheme to have a massive election fraud in order to appear to have “won” the election. With the aid of others in power who are much more in than him.

That despicable and unconscionable rigged November election hoax that Biden took part in reveals that a completely wicked corrupt, unethical politician Joe Biden actually is.

2

Charles Kitchens

1 year ago

They need to lock her up for contempt of the court. Until some these lawless people including our US Attorney General go to jail then these things will continue to happen.

2

D

Merchantseamen

1 year ago

The laws do not apply to them. They lie, cheat and steal. The only way they can win. However the repukes have a knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Do not be surprised if it does not go “our” way come Nov.

0

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R.G.

1 year ago

😸😸😸 This is the leftist democrat banana republic of pennsylvania! We don’t need no stinkin’ courts and laws! We just keep counting ballots until the leftist democrats win!

Hilarious!!!

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