Fetterman sues over mail-in ballots

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic candidate for Senate in the state, filed a federal lawsuit on Monday to argue that mail-in ballots with an incorrect or missing date should be counted following a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling against them being included in the vote count. 

Fetterman argued in the lawsuit that not counting the votes on the grounds of an issue with the date violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that election officials cannot deny someone the right to vote based on an error on the ballot that is “not material” to determining whether the individual is qualified to vote under state election law. 

Democrats are traditionally much more likely to vote ahead of the election by mail, while Republicans are more likely to vote on Election Day. The race between Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz is expected to be one of the closest Senate races in the country and could determine which party will control a majority in the Senate. 

State law requires voters to write the date on their ballot’s outer envelope when they return the ballot. 

The complaint argues rejecting these ballots also violates the First and 14th amendments to the Constitution. 

“The date on a mail ballot envelope thus has no bearing on a voter’s qualifications and serves no other purpose other than to erect barriers to qualified voters exercising their fundamental constitutional right to vote,” the complaint states. 

Republican groups previously filed a lawsuit in state court to argue that these ballots should not be counted, leading to the state Supreme Court ruling against counting them. 

State elections officials urged voters to reach out to their county election offices following the ruling if they think they may have made a technical error on their ballot, but officials have said some counties were not allowing people to correct their mistakes. 

More than 1 million mail-in and absentee ballots have already been turned in in Pennsylvania, according to The Associated Press. The state adopted no-excuse absentee voting in 2019. 

Fetterman filed the lawsuit along with two Democratic voters and Senate and House Democrats’ campaign arms.