The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has ruled that county election offices do not need to discard ballots because of incorrect dates on the outer envelope.

Dating regulations for mail-in ballots have been hotly contested in the courts since the 2020 election.

In a 4-to-1 ruling on Friday, the majority of judges said the date on the external envelope was not used to qualify if a ballot was timely, so it is not relevant to whether a ballot is valid.

Republicans say they will appeal the ruling to Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court.

There are barely two months left until November’s general election.

Secretary of State Al Schmidt has said he does not want to send out new directions to county offices within 45 days of the election.
If the Supreme Court does take up the case and make a ruling before the election, counties will have to comply.