Third Circuit Hears Arguments in Pennsylvania Case over Whether Postal Ballots are Invalid if Voter Forgets to Include the Date

On February 20, the Third Circuit heard argument in Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP v Secretary, 23-3166. See this story. The issue is whether a returned postal ballot is valid or not if the voter forgot to fill out the question on the outer envelope that asks for the date.

All returned ballots are date-stamped when received, so the information about the date the voter put the ballot in a postal collection box is not actually used for any purpose. The 1964 federal Civil Rights Law has a section that is known as the “materiality” voting law. It says if a voter makes a mistake that is not actually “material” for election administration purposes, the vote should count.

This issue has been in Pennsylvania courts for three years now. The U.S. District Court had ruled in favor of the voter-plaintiffs, but then the Third Circuit had stayed the decision.


Comments

Third Circuit Hears Arguments in Pennsylvania Case over Whether Postal Ballots are Invalid if Voter Forgets to Include the Date — 18 Comments

  1. This problem would be solved by making all mail votes illegal under all circumstances.

  2. What about US military members overseas? What about people confined to hospitals? What about US diplomats serving overseas? What about people who are locked up in jail but have not yet been convicted of anything?

  3. Richard Winger, none of them should vote. Prior military service should be one of the prerequisites for voting rights, but active duty military members should concentrate on the mission at hand, not politics. People confined in hospitals should concentrate on their health and recovering. Diplomats should represent the whole nation, not take part in internal politics. People in jail who haven’t been convicted should concentrate on assisting their legal defense.

    Not everyone needs to vote. Most people should not vote. Only a small percentage of people should actually vote.

  4. People legally convicted of a crime (not arrested and in jail) and sentenced and incarcerated should not vote. Punishment is having your liberties restricted until they pay their debt to society. Once their debt to society is done then their voting rights should be restored. I don’t believe in continuing punishment after a sentence is served.

  5. GEE – ONLY TRUMP AND HIS BLOOD RELATIVES CAN BE VOTERS ???

    NOOO SHORTAGE OF DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS TYPES SINCE DAY 1 — AND CULT MORON FOLLOWERS.

    NOOO PROBLEMO FOR SUCH KINGS TO HAVE 100 PCT OF GDP TAXES AND NONSTOP DOMESTIC TERROR/SLAVERY AND FOREIGN WARS.

  6. @ JR

    Interesting esoteric question. Tell me your thoughts, if you wish.

    @ BDLU,

    I disagree to some extent (punishment can have a variety of aspects, some of which can extend beyond physical incarceration) and agree to some extent (punishment should be simple, usually or always consisting of the death penalty for felonies, which should remove any questions of future voting, at least if you don’t live in an area run by demon rats).

    However, that’s all besides the point, since the foregoing discussion didn’t mention anyone who has already been convicted of any crime. It referred only to people who are in jail awaiting trial or during the course of a trial. I said that, like the other classes of people Mr. Winger mentioned, they should not be allowed to vote.

  7. DORR’S WAR IN RI IN 1840-1842

    NO CONST — OLDE RI CHARTER – ONLY RICH COULD VOTE

    ALSO SEVERE GERRYMANDER

    ALMOST CIVIL WAR INSIDE RI

    1844 NEW RI CONST – MANY MORE ABLE TO VOTE / MORE ACCURATE DISTS –
    LAST OF 13 ORIGINAL STATES TO HAVE A WRITTEN CONST.

  8. Mr. Winger, why do you think any of those people should be allowed to vote?

    Personally, I don’t think that people who cash federal government checks or receive federal government benefits should be allowed to vote. This would include diplomats and active duty military, retirees who get e.g. SS, SSI, Medicaid or Medicare so long as such things exist, all federal employees and contractors, all other federal employees and contractors, etc.

    I’m tempted to also say local and state employees, but I’d make an exception for law enforcement officers, other than federal.

    People confined to hospitals and anyone facing criminal charges and unable to afford bail, or facing charges so serious that bail is denied, obviously needs to concentrate on those things, not voting.

    Voting should be in person, on election evenings only, in the manner of the Iowa Demonrat Caucus, but the final count should be a standing count. Anyone unable to be physically present at the vote, or unable to stand up long enough to be counted, should not have the right to vote.

  9. @PF,

    Those who served in the Federal Military may have loyalty to a charismatic general such as George Washington leading to the possibility of a military dictatorship.

  10. This does not seem like a real world concern. General Washington was popular right after the war, but quickly lost his popularity among actual war veterans.

    They tended to be the guys who settled the frontier, where many of them soon discovered that General Washington claimed much of the best land for himself, leaving them with the dregs. They were owed money for their service. And got paid in worthless continentals.

    They grumbled incessantly that General Washington and his equally worthless administration were failing to protect them from attacks by the Indian savages.

    While the distances involved may seem relatively trivial today, having to travel to cities like Harrisburg, Baltimore, and Richmond to have their voices heard in legislatures and courts was an insurmountable journey given the conditions of existing roads, horses, buggies, and their finances.

    When General Washington signed off on his treasury secretary’s whiskey tax scheme, that was the last straw. They rebelled, for roughly the same reasons they did against King George. This time, General Washington played the role of King George, despite famously resisting the fawning attempts of some to actually make him literally a king.

    However,the result wasn’t the same; the ragtag rebels were ruthlessly crushed. The empire triumphed.

    What if only veterans were allowed to vote back then? We’d have probably been better off.

    More recently, military veterans show healthier voting instincts than nonvolunteers. Ron Paul was the favorite candidate of vets. As was and is Trump.

    Should veterans want a charismatic general as dictator, and the general share their desire, why would it matter who is or isn’t allowed to vote? Nonveterans can fall sway to a charismatic general, and veterans can help establish a military dictatorship through means other than voting a general into office.

    A number of charismatic generals have held the presidency in US history, from Andrew Jackson to Dwight Eisenhower. None attempted to become dictator.

    The closest we’ve come to dictatorship? Lincoln, a captain in the Illinois militia during the Blackhawk war; Woodrow Wilson, an academic who never served; FDR, another nonvet (he requested to serve during the Great War, while already serving as Secretary of the Navy; Wilson refused his request); Quisling Biden (five student draft deferments and a conditional medical deferment).

    Please make a more compelling case for your speculation/concern, if you have one.

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