Washington, Oct 29, (V7N) – In a significant legal challenge, Republicans are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent Pennsylvania voters from casting backup ballots if they fail to use a required "secrecy sleeve" for their absentee ballots. This request comes after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that voters could count provisional ballots if their absentee ballots were invalidated.
 
GOP officials argue this interpretation is incorrect and amounts to an unauthorized second chance for voters who make mistakes with their absentee ballots. They highlight that in recent elections, many ballots were rejected for failing to meet mandatory rules, with no opportunities for voters to correct errors.
 
In contrast, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asserted that it is unreasonable to disenfranchise voters over minor mistakes. Justice Christine Donohue stated that the law is designed to facilitate voting, not to create barriers.
 
Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the upcoming presidential election, has drawn heightened attention to how ballots are counted. Republicans have pointed to studies showing a small percentage of mail-in ballots were rejected in past elections due to missing secrecy sleeves, while other analyses suggest any potential impact on the election outcome would be minimal.
 
The current case stems from two voters who attempted to cast provisional ballots on election day after being notified their absentee ballots were improperly submitted. While a lower court upheld the decision not to count these votes, state appellate courts disagreed.
 
Now, Republicans seek to halt the Pennsylvania ruling, arguing for the segregation of provisional ballots to allow for post-election challenges if needed.

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