Court Rules PA Mail-in Ballot Process was Unconstitutional

A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled Friday that Act 77, the legislation that brought us the nightmare of no-excuse mail-in balloting in the 2020 election cycle, is unconstitutional.

Now, the ruling is subject to a state Supreme Court appeal, which you can bet will happen as one of the Wolf administration’s swan songs, and it won’t have an impact of the 2020 election results, sadly.

But if it withstands an appeal, the ruling will likely bring an end to the short-lived mail-in balloting process.

Pennsylvania Act 77 Ruled Unconstitutional

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court issued its opinion on two consolidated lawsuits on Friday.

State Rep. Tim Twardzik, who represents the 123rd District in northern Schuylkill County and took office in 2020, joined one of those lawsuits against Act 77. Twardzik is one of 13 members of the State House to join a lawsuit against Act 77.

In the Court’s opinion striking down Act 77, President Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt writes: “No-excuse mail-in voting makes the exercise of the franchise more convenient and has been used four times in the history of Pennsylvania. Approximately 1.38 million voters have expressed their interest in voting by mail permanently. If presented to the people, a constitutional amendment to end the Article VII, Section 1 requirement of in-person voting is likely to be adopted. But a constitutional amendment must be presented to the people and adopted into our fundamental law before legislation authorizing no-excuse mail-in voting can ‘be placed upon our statute books’.

“We grant summary relief … and declare that Act 77 violates Article VII, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.”

To read the Court’s full opinion, check out the official document below:

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