The Pennsylvania Supreme Court concurred with the ruling of an appellate court that rejected a request from Republicans to prevent the counting of provisional ballots submitted by voters whose mail-in ballots had been disqualified.
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied an appeal from Republicans representing a county election board. This appeal was initiated by two voters who sought permission to cast provisional ballots after their mail ballots were rejected due to irregularities. The decision was made by a narrow 4-3 vote.
A legal dispute emerged following Pennsylvania's primary in April, when election officials in Butler County, situated north of Pittsburgh, dismissed provisional ballots submitted by two voters. The ballots were deemed invalid because the voters failed to include their mail ballots in the required inner secrecy envelope, a mistake referred to as a "naked ballot." After being informed of this issue, the two individuals attempted to cast their votes in person on primary day. They subsequently filed a lawsuit after the county election board rejected their provisional ballots. The Republican National Committee and the Pennsylvania Republican Party intervened to support the board's decision, while the Pennsylvania Democratic Party stepped in to advocate for the voters' position.
The trial court determined that the board's decision to reject the provisional votes was appropriate; however, this ruling was later reversed by an appeals court, which mandated that voters be allowed to cast their provisional ballots again. Subsequently, the Republican National Committee and the state GOP sought to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Following the decision, the Pennsylvania Republican Party and the RNC filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. My colleague at the affiliated site Townhall, Sarah Arnold, continues the narrative from this point.
Just four days prior to the presidential election, the emergency appeal from the GOP and RNC, which sought a temporary suspension of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling regarding the counting of mail-in ballots lacking a date or containing an incorrect date, was denied.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito, without any dissenting opinions, acknowledged the significance of the issue but indicated that the Supreme Court had valid reasons for refraining from intervention at such a late stage in the electoral process. In a joint statement, Alito, along with Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, emphasized the importance of the case while clarifying that even if they concurred with the applicants' constitutional argument, they would still be unable to avert the anticipated consequences.
In a collaborative announcement following the Court's decision, Michael Tyler, spokesperson for the Harris campaign, and Rosemary Boeglin, spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee, expressed:
In Pennsylvania and nationwide, Trump and his supporters are attempting to undermine the integrity of the voting process, yet our institutions remain resilient against his disgraceful efforts. The ruling issued on Friday reaffirms that every eligible voter possesses the fundamental right to not only vote but also to ensure that their vote is counted.
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