Sep 17, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Pennsylvania Supreme Court extends mail-in ballot deadline

Fadel Allassan

Mailed in ballots in a stack. — An election worker opens envelopes containing vote-by-mail ballots in the Washington state primary. Photo: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Thursday extended the deadlines for mail ballots to several days after the election, a decision that could see thousands more ballots counted, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The state of play: Current law says that mail-in ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. The court decision moves that deadline to 5 p.m. the following Friday, Nov. 6.

Any ballot received "after Election Day must either be postmarked by Nov. 3 or have no proof they were sent afterward," according to the Inquirer.
The decision "will likely draw criticism from Republicans who have argued that votes should be received by Election Day," the Inquirer writes.

Worth noting: The court allowed counties to use drop boxes for people to personally turn in the ballots — a method President Trump has frequently attacked.

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court extends mail-in ballot deadline

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