Supreme Court Clears Path for PA to Count Provisional Ballots from Mail-In Voters

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to an appeals court’s ruling that it disagreed with Republicans who argued the state shouldn’t count provisional votes cast by voters whose ballots sent in via mail were rejected.

 

The high court of Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, rejected by a narrow 4-3 margin, an appeal filed by Republicans for a county board of elections, in which two voters had sued to have their mail ballots rejected due to irregularities.

 

The Hill:

 

After the Pennsylvania primary, two voters from Butler County (north of Pittsburgh) cast provisional ballots.

 

Two Pennsylvanians tried to vote on the primary day despite not having received a mail ballot with a secrecy seal.

 

 

The county election board denied the provisional ballots that they had cast in person. The RNC, Pennsylvania Republican Party, and Pennsylvania Democratic Party intervened in support of the board while the Pennsylvania Democratic Party supported the challenge by the voters.

 

A trial court heard the case and ruled the board was right to reject the provisional ballots. This was later overturned by the appeals court which ruled the voters were entitled to a re-do of their provisional ballots. The RNC and state GOP then appealed to the Keystone State’s Supreme Court.

 

The Pennsylvania Republican Party and RNC appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after the ruling. They asked them to stop a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that required election officials to count provisional votes cast by voters who had their mail-in ballots rejected.

 

The Supreme Court has several reasons why it cannot get involved in this election process, despite the fact that it is a matter of “considerable import,” said Conservative Justice Samuel Alito without any dissents.

 

 

Alito, Justices Clarence Thomas, and Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a joint statement saying the case “is a matter of considerable importance.” But, they wrote, “Even if we agreed with the applicants’ federal constitutional argument (a question on which I express no view at this time), we could not prevent the consequences they fear.”

 

In a statement released after the Court ruling, Harris’ campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler said:

 

“In Pennsylvania and throughout the country, Trump, his allies, and their supporters are trying to make your vote harder to count. But our institutions are stronger and can withstand his shameful attacks. The decision of Friday confirms the fact that every voter has the right for their vote to count.”