PHILADELPHIA — The ACLU of Pennsylvania will present oral argument on Wednesday, requesting that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court uphold the Commonwealth Court’s Oct. 30, 2024 decision, which found it unconstitutional to disqualify a timely-received mail-in ballot due to a missing or incorrect handwritten date on the mail return envelope.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 9 a.m. EST
WHERE: Supreme Court, Courtroom 456, City Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Observers can enter City Hall using the Mayor’s entrance on the northeast corner. Identification is required to enter.
- Virtual Option: The court will be livestreaming audio of oral arguments to YouTube at: https://youtube.com/live/VDbk5zR2Ql4?feature=share
WHO: Stephen Loney, ACLU-PA senior supervising attorney, will present the argument on behalf of the Voter-Plaintiffs.
BACKGROUND: The Republican National Committee intervened in the case, Baxter v. Philadelphia Board of Elections, and is appealing the Commonwealth Court’s ruling. The case arises from the September 2024 Special Election in Philadelphia, where 69 voters, including the two Voter-Plaintiffs, submitted their mail-in ballots on time but had their votes disqualified due to incorrect dating on the outer envelope.
The ACLU-PA will maintain its argument that the Free and Equal Elections Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution protects voters from being disenfranchised for meaningless paperwork mistakes.
More information about the case is available at aclupa.org/cases/baxter-and-kinniry-v-philadelphia-board-elections.
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Baxter and Kinniry v. Philadelphia Board of Elections
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