HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Election boards in Pennsylvania's 67 counties may not invalidate mail-in ballots simply because they lack accurate, handwritten dates on their exterior return envelopes, a federal judge ruled Monday.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter, the latest in a long-running legal dispute over what is a small percentage of votes cast in the state, was issued more than two months after the state Supreme Court announced it also would consider the issue.
Baxter wrote that most counties did not try to argue that the exterior dates, which are not used to show whether a ballot was received in time, serve an important state interest in regulating elections. The Republican National Committee and one county, Berks, did argue the dates help combat voting fraud, Baxter wrote.
“Absent from the record, however, is any evidence demonstrating how this requirement furthers that purported interest," the judge wrote. The exterior envelope dating mandate violates the U.S. Constitution, she ruled, by impairing the right to vote under the First and Fourteenth amendments.
RNC spokesperson Abigail Jackson said it will appeal the decision, and Jeff Bukowski, Berks County’s lawyer, said he will discuss a potential appeal with the county commissioners. Jackson described the external envelope signature requirement as a commonsense safeguard.
The voter and groups that sued, including Democratic campaign organizations and a teachers' union, called the exterior envelope dates “nothing more than a ‘compliance test’” to show how state voters “'can follow written instructions,'” Baxter said.
She ruled there is no state interest in requiring the signatures and noted that more than 10,000 votes statewide were invalidated as a result of the dating mandate in the 2022 election.
“Such disenfranchisement burdens the right to vote and there is no valid state interest to weigh this against,” Baxter wrote.
A decision by Baxter throwing out the envelope date mandate in a separate case was eventually reversed by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but it was decided on a different issue.
Lower courts have repeatedly deemed it unconstitutional or illegal to throw out such ballots. But higher courts — including the state Supreme Court most recently on Nov. 1 — have blocked those decisions from taking effect. New envelope designs have helped reduce the number of invalidated votes.
FILE - Chester County, Pa., election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots at West Chester University in West Chester, Pa., Nov. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jackson Merrill hit a two-run homer a few hours after finalizing a $135 million, nine-year contract and the San Diego Padres started 7-0 for the first time in their 57-season history by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 on Wednesday.
Fernando Tatis Jr. raced home on the back end of a double steal to start the scoring in the four-run third inning for the Padres, whose previous best start was 4-0 in 1984, when they went to their first World Series.
The Padres' hot start includes sweeping playoff teams from last year. Before taking three from the Guardians, the Padres swept a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves in a rematch of their NL Division Series, which San Diego won in two games.
Merrill homered in his second straight game, driving the first pitch he saw from Ben Lively (0-1) onto the party deck atop the right field wall. He began his trot, tossed his bat and gestured with his right arm.
Merrill was an All-Star in 2024 and finished second to Pittsburgh pitcher Paul Skenes in NL Rookie of the Year balloting.
Tatis and Luis Arraez hit consecutive two-out singles in the third. Arraez broke for second and drew a throw from catcher Bo Naylor. Arraez pulled up and second baseman Daniel Schneemann turned and threw home too late to catch Tatis. Arraez advanced on Manny Machado's single and scored on José Ramírez's throwing error. Merrill then homered.
Arraez homered leading off the seventh, his first.
Dylan Cease (1-0) held the Guardians to one run and four hits in 6 1/3 innings, struck out seven and walked one.
Robert Suarez pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.
The homer by Merrill, who quickly became a fan favorite last year. He had a bobblehead night Monday and turns 22 on April 19.
Tatis has five stolen bases in seven games. He had 11 last year, when he missed two months with a stress reaction in his right thigh bone.
Guardians RHP Gavin Williams starts Friday night at the Los Angeles Angels. The Padres haven't announced a starter for Friday's game at the Chicago Cubs.
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San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill, center, rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Ben Lively works against a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez, right, throws to first too late as San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., left, arrives safely to first for a single during the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. safely steals home to score during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill, right, celebrates with teammate Manny Machado after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill watches his two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill watches his two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill watches his two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians 307Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
