Two court decisions this week may have dealt a blow to a pair of equity and social justice issues that have been among the most fiercely debated topics in our city and state in recent years: voting access and police accountability.
The first ruling came from the U.S. Supreme Court and promises to further muddy the waters surrounding mail-in voting. On Tuesday, the court invalidated a lower court ruling that said ballots mailed without a date could be counted in Pennsylvania.
The Supreme Court did not issue an opinion on the matter but released a one-paragraph order that vacated a decision in May by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which found the date requirement was immaterial under the Civil Rights Act and cannot be used as a reason to reject ballots.
