“County boards of elections are prohibited from rejecting absentee or mail-in ballots based on signature comparison conducted by county election officials or employees, or as the result of third-party challenges based on signature analysis and comparisons,” the two Republican justices and five Democratic justices wrote in their decision.
The case arose from a dispute between Pennsylvania’s top election official, Democrat Kathy Boockvar, and President Trump’s campaign along with other Republicans. The court favored Boockvar’s argument that a signature comparison is not by itself a sufficient reason to discount a ballot.
The decision comes as states prepare for a spike in mail ballots this election cycle and amid concerns that votes will not be counted due to technical issues or ballots being discarded or lost.
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