HARRISBURG (AP) – A court decision in the presidential battleground state of PA means that voters can cast a provisional ballot in place of a mail-in ballot that is rejected for a mistake they made when they returned it. Lawyers in the case say the decision will apply to all PA counties. An appeal could be filed within days to the state Supreme Court. Parties in the case couldn’t immediately say how many PA counties don’t let voters replace a rejected mail-in ballot with a provisional ballot. The lawsuit is one being fought in state and federal courts over the practice of PA counties throwing out mail-in ballots over mistakes like forgetting to sign or write the date on the ballot’s return envelope or forgetting to put the ballot in a secrecy envelope. Democrats typically outvote Republicans by mail by about 3-to-1 in Pennsylvania, and the decision could mean that hundreds or thousands more votes are counted in November’s election.
