This unusual election year has left many split on deciding how to vote. For those mail-in voters, a Supreme Court ruling has permitted Pennsylvania to count ballots that are mailed in up to three days following the Nov. 3 election.
What We Know:
- Although the outcome showed justices divided 4-4 on Monday, it wasn’t enough to overturn the decision. The state Supreme Court ruling will stand and it requires all county election officials to receive all mail-in ballot received up until Nov. 6 regardless of the postmark is unclear and long as it meets the time constraint.
- In this scenario, Republicans have been the main opposition, including President Donald Trump’s campaign. The pushback from conservatives has been over the deadline extension for counted votes. They argue that it violates a federal law that sets Election Day as the first Tuesday of November, typical after the first Monday, and the constitutionality of this choice is reserved for lawmakers, not the courts.
- Lawrence Tabas, the state Republican Party chairman, has stated that the party disagrees with the decision and, citing the tight 4-4 decision, “it only underscores the importance of having a full Supreme Court as soon as possible”.
“To be clear, the Supreme Court decided not to grant a stay — which does not mean the actions of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court would withstand a legal challenge to their judicial overreach should the court hear the case,” Tabas said.
- On the other side of things, Nancy Patton Mills, chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, blamed Republicans for attempting to invoke confusion among voters who have yet to pick a side this election. She said in a statement that the outcome of this ruling is “a significant victory for Pennsylvania voters”.
- The state’s high court has considered that postal service delays may end up invalidating a large portion of mail-in ballots. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has hindered the regular election process, the state’s courts acted upon the power they have to extend election deadlines during a disaster emergency, of which this health crisis can be considered one.
Since the decision, Chief Justice John Roberts along with liberal Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas banded together to reject Pennsylvania Republicans’ attempt to block the state court ruling, which would have halted absentee ballots by Election Day.
