(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – In a massive victory for the GOP likely to prevent leftist election fraud through the use of absentee ballots, a US appeals court has ruled that mail-in votes in Pennsylvania should have a valid date under the voter’s signature as part of the signature verification process.
The ruling could influence the political balance in Pennsylvania—a pivotal battleground state—and potentially extend its impact to other states with similar political significance, The Daily Wire comments in a report.
In its recent decision, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling by a lower federal court, granting a significant legal victory to the Republican National Committee (RNC) concerning the process of verifying signatures on mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania.
The legal dispute revolved around the question of whether mail-in ballots that were sent within the appropriate timeframe but featured either an incorrect date or lacked a date entirely beneath the voter’s signature should be considered valid and counted, as noted by NPR.
The Democratic Party posited that these ballots should be counted, citing the Materiality Provision in Section 10101(a)(2)(B) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This provision forbids the rejection of a voter’s right based on “an error or omission” in documentation “pertaining to any application, registration, or any other procedure required for voting,” if the error is “not material in determining whether [the] individual is qualified” to vote.
The RNC argued that enforcing a date requirement on a ballot does not violate the right to vote, as the Materiality Provision “only prohibits immaterial requirements affecting the qualification and registration of a voter,” and does not apply to additional criteria for casting a ballot.
The 3rd Circuit Court’s decision, supported by two of the three judges (all appointed by Democrats), clarified the issue by distinguishing between two phases of the voting process.
“States have separate bodies of rules for separate stages of the voting process. One stage, voter qualification, deals with who votes. To register and thus be authorized to vote, applicants must follow prescribed steps and meet certain requirements. It’s like obtaining a license to drive. Another stage deals with how ballots are cast by those previously authorized to vote, which is governed by a different set of rules. To cast a ballot that is valid and will be counted, all qualified voters must abide by certain requirements, just like those authorized to drive must obey the State’s traffic laws like everyone else,” the judges decided.
“The Materiality Provision is an important federal overlay on state election requirements during the “who” stage: voter qualification. It prohibits States from denying an applicant the right to vote based on an error or omission in paperwork involving his application if that mistake is immaterial in determining whether he is qualified to vote. That is, it is triggered when conduct or laws restrict who may vote. But it leaves it to the States to decide how qualified voters must cast a valid ballot. Pennsylvania has made one such rule—the date requirement—mandatory. The federal Materiality Provision, in our view, does not interfere,” they elaborated.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley welcomed the ruling.
“This is a crucial victory for election integrity and voter confidence in the Keystone State and nationwide. Pennsylvanians deserve to feel confident in the security of their mail ballots, and this 3rd Circuit ruling roundly rejects unlawful left-wing attempts to count undated or incorrectly dated mail ballots. Republicans will continue to fight and win for election integrity in courts across the country ahead of the 2024 election,” Whatley commented.
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