A Pennsylvania appeals court said Wednesday the requirement that mail-in voters handwrite the correct date on their ballot violates the state Constitution, but it is not yet clear how the ruling will apply going forward.

Republicans wasted no time in appealing a Pennsylvania court decision that would relax the rules for mail ballots, asking the state Supreme Court on Thursday to reverse a lower court opinion issued one day earlier.

Now, two new cases may address the rules in the biggest battleground state on the eve of the election, with implications for thousands of ballots that have already been mailed in or dropped off. The latest fights — and there may be more to come — present two issues.

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 judges emphasized they were ruling on an election that has already occurred — and involved unopposed candidates — but there’s uncertainty about how it might apply to the election that's underway.

A Pennsylvania appeals court ruled Wednesday that the state constitution prohibits the disqualification of timely mail ballots because of a missing or improper date. Though the 3-2 majority stressed its decision only concerns 69 rejected votes in a special election last month — which will have no impact on the outcome — it ushers in