On November 13, 2018, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the ACLU Voting Rights Project, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and cooperating counsel filed a constitutional challenge against Pennsylvania’s deadline for submitting completed absentee ballots. The lawsuit argues that voters are disenfranchised by the deadline in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution’s guarantee of “free and equal” elections and the state and federal guarantees of equal protection.
Pennsylvania election law requires that absentee ballots be received by county bureaus of elections by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day, which is the earliest deadline in the country. The lawsuit was filed by nine Pennsylvania residents who submitted their applications to vote absentee before the deadline for applying - which is by 5 p.m. the Tuesday before Election Day - but received their ballots too late to meet the deadline for submitting their completed absentee ballots.
