Pennsylvania
Republican National Committee v. Genser
Voters in Butler County, Pennsylvania made a mistake in voting their mail ballots in the April 2024 primary election, forgetting to use the required secrecy envelope. Because their mail ballots could not be counted, they went to the polls in Election Day and voted provisional ballots. The County later determined that it would not count their provisional ballots, and the voter’s appealed, arguing that Pennsylvania law requires that when an eligible voter attempts to vote by mail but the mail ballot is rendered void due to some defect like lacking a secrecy envelope, the eligible voter may cast a provisional ballot and have that ballot counted notwithstanding the failed attempt to vote by mail.
Status: Ongoing
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29 Pennsylvania Cases
Pennsylvania
Jul 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
Horton v. Rangos (Amicus Brief)
This case challenges the government’s authority to incarcerate individuals accused of probation violations for months or years without meaningfully assessing their risk to the community.
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Pennsylvania
Jul 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
Horton v. Rangos (Amicus Brief)
This case challenges the government’s authority to incarcerate individuals accused of probation violations for months or years without meaningfully assessing their risk to the community.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Jul 2024
Privacy & Technology
Commonwealth v. Foster
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Jul 2024
Privacy & Technology
Commonwealth v. Foster
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
May 2024
Civil Liberties
Penncrest School District v. Cagle
This case in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asks whether the Right to Know Law (“RTKL”), 65 P.S. §§ 67.101 - 67.3104, requires the disclosure of school board members’ social media posts on their private Facebook accounts relating to the propriety of a display of certain books in the school library. This case is among one of the first state supreme court cases addressing whether Facebook posts constitute records. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania attorney Brian Cagle, filed a brief arguing that RTKL’s text and structure require the conclusion that posts are “records,” and thus are subject to disclosure.
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court
May 2024
Civil Liberties
Penncrest School District v. Cagle
This case in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asks whether the Right to Know Law (“RTKL”), 65 P.S. §§ 67.101 - 67.3104, requires the disclosure of school board members’ social media posts on their private Facebook accounts relating to the propriety of a display of certain books in the school library. This case is among one of the first state supreme court cases addressing whether Facebook posts constitute records. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania attorney Brian Cagle, filed a brief arguing that RTKL’s text and structure require the conclusion that posts are “records,” and thus are subject to disclosure.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Feb 2024
Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
Commonwealth v. Kurtz
“Reverse searches” are a novel surveillance technique where the police can obtain records reflecting everyone who used a search engine to look up a particular word or phrase. In this case, the lower court approved the police using a reverse search, ruling that people do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy for any query they enter into a search engine. The ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project and State Supreme Court Initiative along with the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed an amicus brief in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court urging the court to reverse the lower court’s decision and hold that search history data is protected by the state and federal Constitution.
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Feb 2024
Privacy & Technology
Free Speech
Commonwealth v. Kurtz
“Reverse searches” are a novel surveillance technique where the police can obtain records reflecting everyone who used a search engine to look up a particular word or phrase. In this case, the lower court approved the police using a reverse search, ruling that people do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy for any query they enter into a search engine. The ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project and State Supreme Court Initiative along with the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed an amicus brief in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court urging the court to reverse the lower court’s decision and hold that search history data is protected by the state and federal Constitution.
U.S. Supreme Court
May 2023
Voting Rights
Ritter v. Migliori
Pennsylvania mail ballot voters successfully challenged a rule that would have invalidated their votes because of a meaningless paperwork error on the return envelope.
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U.S. Supreme Court
May 2023
Voting Rights
Ritter v. Migliori
Pennsylvania mail ballot voters successfully challenged a rule that would have invalidated their votes because of a meaningless paperwork error on the return envelope.