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Judge who tossed Michigan case a stereotypical activist judge Judge Brutally Dismisses Rudy Giuliani’s Suit To ‘Disenfranchise’ Pa. Voters whether or not the practice of curing ballots violates state law is a question that should be directed to state courts, rather than federal court. Most of the allegations in the complaint revolve around the idea that Pennsylvania law does not allow the curing of absentee ballots. That could well be wrong under state law; the state Supreme Court declined to require curing, but it didn’t say it was forbidden. Pennsylvania mail ballot curing rules Your ballot will be rejected if you forget to sign it, or if you did not put your ballot in the "secrecy envelope." These are the so called "naked ballots" you've heard so much about in 2020. Pennsylvania counted those “naked ballots” during the state’s primary earlier this year, but amid a flurry of lawsuits over how the state handles an election heavily reliant on a mail-in voting due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state Supreme Court ruled Sept. 17 that ballots mailed back without secrecy envelopes will not be counted in the general election. Brann Fact check: Pennsylvania mail-in votes need 2 envelopes to be counted 'Naked' ballot rules put thousands of Pennsylvania mail-in votes at risk, Philadelphia official warns The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled recently that naked ballots will not be counted in the 2020 general election, which according to Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa M. Deeley, could lead to the rejection of around 100,000 absentee votes in Pennsylvania alone. 'Naked Ballot' Rule Could Lead To Thousands Of Pa. Votes Getting Rejected BALLOTS — “Naked” ballots are stacked and sorted inside a secure facility within the Erie County Courthouse. At issue is guidance Boockvar’s office gave to counties on the night before the election. Counties were told that as they began to process ballots on Election Day, they could share information with political parties about ballots that contained deficiencies, such as a missing signature or date, or a missing secrecy envelope. During a morning hearing in Philadelphia, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Savage said he was dubious of arguments from a lawyer for GOP congressional candidate Kathy Barnette, who argued that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had concluded that the law prohibits counties from allowing voters who erred in completing or packaging their mail-in ballots to correct those mistakes. “I’m not sure about that,” said Savage, an appointee of President George W. Bush. “Is that exactly what was said or is what was said was that there is no mandatory requirement that the election board do that?....Wasn’t the legislative intent of the statute we are talking about to franchise, not disenfranchise, voters?” GOP effort to block 'cured' Pennsylvania ballots gets chilly reception from judge Pennsylvania Ordered to Set Aside Some Ballots With ID Cures Pennsylvania Judge Rules In Favor Of Trump Campaign, Orders State Can’t Count Some Ballots The opportunity to “cure” one’s mistakes is also referenced on page 12 of the Pennsylvania court’s ruling: All counties got the same guidance the night before the election instructing them to notify political parties and update the ballot-tracking online system about ballot errors, thus allowing voters to cast a provisional ballot on Election Day. Some counties notified voters, and some didn’t. The lawsuit charges that “Democratic-heavy counties” violated the law by identifying mail-in ballots before Election Day that had defects — such as lacking an inner “secrecy envelope” or lacking a voter’s signature on the outside envelope — so that the voter could fix it and ensure that their vote would count, called “curing.” And this could potentially be very consequential. A Philadelphia official recently raised concerns that as many as 100,000 “naked ballots” could be thrown out — and pointed out that Donald Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016 by just 44,000 votes. The decision – part of a series of rulings that extended vote-by-mail deadlines, allowed ballot drop boxes and removed Green Party candidates from the ticket – could force as many as 100,000 votes to be tossed out in a state that Donald Trump carried by just 44,000 more votes than his opponent Hillary Clinton. Good job, Philly: Only 1% of city mail ballots were ‘naked’