November 6, 2020 at 3:38 pm EST
The Pennsylvania GOP is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to order the separation of late ballots
Issued by Robert Barnes, Felicia Sonmas and Karen Heller
The Republican Party of Pennsylvania filed a new lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday.
Under a state Supreme Court ruling, election officials in Pennsylvania are allowed to come in by 5pm on Friday to count postmarked votes by Tuesday. But state officials agreed to split the ballots received after 8pm on election day as legal challenges from Republicans remain pending.
However, the state GOP said Friday that an official order from the court was needed to ensure the ballots were split.
Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State Kathy Bouquet’s order to separate the votes cast in that three – day window has already been filed that no district is known to Republicans. Party representatives have been contacted in all 67 districts and 42 have been confirmed to have split the ballot involved. The fact that the party did not receive a response from others raised the possibility that the order would not be implemented in all districts. It also said that Bougainville may change its order at some point.
The restraining order that the state of emergency is approaching usually requires additional evidence from the court.
Booker said a very small number of ballots were in danger and that the current number was only those ballots that arrived on election day.
“So no matter what happens, I don’t think it’s going to have the biggest impact on this race,” he told CNN on Thursday.
In Philadelphia, for example, city officials say just 500 votes were cast on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Supreme Court has twice refused to extend the deadline for receiving votes approved by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. But the three judges said the court’s order may be unconstitutional and that they are open to presenting a case that looks at the issue. That is why government officials agreed to split the ballot.
