The Supreme Court has opted not to consider a challenge from civil and voting rights organizations aimed at overturning Pennsylvania’s stipulation that mail-in ballots must feature a handwritten date on the outer envelope. The organizations contended that this requirement is superfluous and has resulted in the disqualification of legitimate ballots. The justices declined to review a lower court’s decision that upheld this requirement, dismissing the argument that it contravenes federal law, which forbids the rejection of ballots due to paperwork errors that are “not material” to assessing a voter’s eligibility, as reported by Reuters.

In 2024, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Philadelphia, determined that although the date requirement “serves little apparent purpose”—since it is not utilized to confirm whether a ballot was received on time—it remains legally valid. The court explained that the 1964 Civil Rights Act pertains to voter registration rules that establish eligibility to vote, rather than to the submission process of ballots for counting.

Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state in presidential elections, once again proved to be crucial last year. Now-President Donald Trump won the state against Democratic opponent and former Vice President Kamala Harris in November, reversing his previous defeat to then-President Joe Biden four years prior.