Pennsylvania court loosens mail ballot rules, but a fast-track appeal is likely

A divided Pennsylvania appeals court says the envelopes voters use to send in mail ballots don't need to have been accurately hand-dated. The Commonwealth Court's 3-2 decision Wednesday comes after the state Supreme Court sidestepped the issue and six days before the end of voting in the presidential election. The latest decision upholds a Philadelphia judge’s ruling that 69 mail ballots should be counted in a pair of single-candidate state House of Representatives special elections held in September. Republican groups who lost the case say they plan an appeal in the coming days.