Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough’s Nov. 25 order was blocked by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court while it considers the case, filed by state Republicans led by U.S. Representative Mike Kelly, on an expedited basis. Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, both Democrats, appealed the order to the state’s top court...
McCullough’s opinion, posted Friday night, doesn’t add anything to the GOP-brought case as a practical matter, but provides the judge’s reasoning for having ordered a temporary delay.
Her ruling has been one of the few wins for Republicans and the Trump campaign in a flurry of litigation across several battleground states following the Nov. 3 election...
It’s unclear exactly what further steps in the process can be delayed, but the plaintiffs suggested there were several, including the assembly of electors. The Electoral College vote to certify the Nov. 3 election results doesn’t take place until Dec. 14. Democrat Joe Biden won the vote in Pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes over President Donald Trump, and with it the state’s 20 electoral votes.
Voting Procedures
McCullough, a Republican, said the GOP was likely to succeed in establishing that the procedure by which Pennsylvania’s GOP-controlled legislature instituted new mail-in voting methods as part of the 2019 Act 77 violated the state’s constitution. The judge didn’t say whether she thinks that means that any votes cast by mail-in ballot must be disqualified.
Act 77 let all qualified Pennsylvanians vote by mail without needing an excuse, and made certain other changes to the administration of elections in the state.
The Republicans “appear to have established a likelihood to succeed on the merits because Petitioners have asserted the Constitution does not provide a mechanism for the legislature to allow for expansion of absentee voting without a constitutional amendment,” McCullough said in a written opinion issued late Friday.
McCullough wrote the statement of her legal findings to provide legal justification for her Nov. 25 order calling a halt to the certification process. Those justifications will be considered by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, which has the authority either to uphold or to overturn her legal findings.
In response to McCullough’s ruling this week, lawyers for the state and the governor said constitutional challenges to the law, signed by Wolf on Oct. 31, 2019, were possible within 180 days of it becoming effective, a deadline that passed early this year.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued an order Saturday vacating a lower court’s decision to suspend the certification of the state’s vote in the presidential election, holding that a challenge to the state’s vote-by-mail laws had come too late.
Earlier this week, Pennsylvania certified its vote. But Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough blocked further steps to put the certification into effect, and upheld her earlier injunction on Friday, holding that a challenge to the state’s 2019 law allowing “no-excuse” vote-by-mail violated the state constitution. . . .
. . . Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Judge McCullough’s order under the doctrine of “laches,” ruling that Rep. Kelly and others should have brought the constitutional challenge before the primary and general elections in 2020 — not after millions of voters in Pennsylvania had already cast their ballots . . .
[B]300 H and H[/B]'s grasp of the law is infantile.
So, you don't want to back up your love for Trump and your beliefs with a bet, gotcha, you know Trump lost you are just posturing.Rudi I'm going to slip on my "Forum Moderator" hat for a moment and point out that we do have rules are directly insulting other members. I'm not saying you crossed the line with this post but I will warn you that you are dangerously close to getting there. Please make your points without direct insults. We can all agree that we disagree, but we need to be civil.
With my moderator hat back off, and now posting as just another member ...
Now that the PA Supreme Court has tossed the case, which was to be expected, the case is expected to be appealed to the US Supreme Court, and probably brought up in front of Judge Allieto as he would likely be the "friendliest" to pushing it forward. The task of the plaintiffs will be to show that somehow, while still be legal in PA, the actions violated some US laws, and harmed at least 1 candidate, which could cause a change in the results.
As I have indicated, I believe that the main focus of some of these cases may be to alter the Electoral College counts, but even if PA and GA, however unlikely, get flipped to Trump, it still leaves Biden as the winner of the EC count.
First off, I'm not a Trump supporter, so you are barking up the wrong tree with that. As you've been known to drag up old threads you may find some of my comments warning about Trump dating back 4+ years.So, you don't want to back up your love for Trump and your beliefs with a bet, gotcha, you know Trump lost you are just posturing.
It is very unlikely to go to the SC by the way.
Dated when?First off, I'm not a Trump supporter, so you are barking up the wrong tree with that. As you've been known to drag up old threads you may find some of my comments warning about Trump dating back 4+ years.
Second, I am a realist about Trump and if you bother to read what I actually wrote, rather than what you think I have written then you will realize how far off base you are with some of your comments.
BTW, you may have caught the CNN talking heads admitting that there is actually a legitimate Constitutional path for Trump to retain the office of the President.
2 days ago
Unless Trump pays off the electoral college LOL.
Did Trump win PA yet? LOL!Soros bought this election for you Democratic liars cheaters stealing rioting looting burning American treason party......