The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling, in a 4-3 vote, on Friday that says, voters that have flaws in their mail in ballots must be given the opportunity to cast a provisional ballot to allow their vote to be counted. The ruling states that the Washington County Board of Elections must inform voters of fatal flaws. That reverses the policy approved by The Washington County Board of Elections from April 2024. In a 2-1 vote the policy was established that no notice would be given to voters if their ballot contained a fatal flaw. Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman is also the Chairman of the Board of Elections. He says that he is not positive that the decision has added any clarity to how faulty ballots should be handled. He points to Pennsylvania act 77 that says ballot curing is not allowed, but the Supreme Court says that voters must be given notice of the flaw and then decide if they will file a provisional ballot. Sherman says voters will be notified by email by Pennsylvania’s SURE system if flaws on their mail in ballot are identified. Those voters will then be given the opportunity to file a provisional ballot at their polling station. Sherman says that Washington County and other counties are seeking clarity from the legislature and the governor to put this issue to rest. Currently, a decision by the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals has been sent to the US Supreme Court to rule whether incorrect dates on ballot return envelopes render a ballot ineligible. The appeals court said they are not disqualifying errors. Sherman said the county will abide by the final decision of the court, state or federal. (Photo: AP)