An emergency appeal from Republicans was reportedly rejected by the Supreme Court on Friday, which could have resulted in the non-counting of thousands of provisional ballots in Pennsylvania.
This occurred during the final days before the election, as the presidential campaigns competed in the nation’s largest battleground state.
The justices maintained a state Supreme Court decision that mandates elections officials to tally provisional ballots cast by voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected.
The decision is a triumph for voting-rights advocates, who had been attempting to compel counties, particularly those under Republican control, to allow voters to submit a provisional ballot on Election Day in the event that their mail-in ballot was rejected due to a minor error.
The Republican Party claimed triumph in a decision by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, despite the Supreme Court action being a setback for them.
The court denied a final attempt by voting rights advocates to guarantee that mail-in ballots that lack an accurate, handwritten date on the exterior envelope will still be counted in this year’s presidential election.
The rulings are the most recent in a four-year-old legal dispute regarding voting by mail in Pennsylvania, a state where each vote is of the utmost importance in presidential elections.
In numerous court cases, Republicans have endeavored to advocate for the most stringent interpretation of the law regarding the rejection of mail-in ballots, which are primarily cast by Democrats.
In total, the nearly simultaneous rulings on Friday will guarantee a significant emphasis on letting thousands of individuals in voting provisionally on Election Day in the event that their mail-in ballot was rejected, as well as the potential for additional litigation.
According to state records, approximately 9,000 ballots out of over 1.6 million returned have been received at elections offices throughout Pennsylvania as of Thursday, without a confidentiality envelope, a signature, or a handwritten date.
With 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is the largest presidential election battleground this year and is anticipated to have a significant impact on the outcome of the election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.
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