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A Pennsylvania federal appeals court issued a ruling on Wednesday stating that mail-in ballots lacking accurate handwritten dates on the outside of envelopes will not be considered valid. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled 2-1.

The ruling, expected to significantly affect this year's elections in the crucial battleground state, overturned a lower court’s November decision, per Fox News.

“This is a crucial victory for election integrity and voter confidence in the Keystone State and nationwide,” Michael Whatley, the chair of the Republican National Committee said in a statement.

“Pennsylvanians deserve to feel confident in the security of their mail ballots, and this Third Circuit ruling roundly rejects unlawful left-wing attempts to count undated or incorrectly dated mail ballots,” he added.

The lower court had determined that mail-in ballots should be counted even if they lacked proper dates, provided they were received on time.

The court argued that disqualifying ballots for minor paperwork errors disenfranchised voters and violated the Materiality Provision of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

In Judge Thomas Ambro's opinion, he stated that the section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, upon which the lower court relied, does not extend to ballot-casting rules in general, such as requirements for dates on envelopes.

Instead, he emphasized that it solely pertains to the process of establishing a voter's eligibility to cast a ballot.

“The Pennsylvania General Assembly has decided that mail-in voters must date the declaration on the return envelope of their ballot to make their vote effective,” Ambro wrote. “The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania unanimously held this ballot-casting rule is mandatory; thus, failure to comply renders a ballot invalid under Pennsylvania law.”

Supporters of mail-in ballots contend that they enhance voting convenience, particularly benefiting senior citizens and individuals with disabilities. However, some Republicans raise concerns about potential election integrity issues associated with the process. Especially in Pennsylvania, where Democrats are far more likely to vote by mail, according to Fox News.

President Donald Trump has vehemently criticized the system, describing it as “totally corrupt” and attributing it, at least in part, to his loss in the 2020 election.