The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 1 rejected Republicans’ request to halt the effects of a state court’s decision allowing Pennsylvania voters to cast provisional ballots after they have improperly submitted mail-in ballots.
Justice Samuel Alito issued a statement, which was joined by Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, saying that even if they agreed with Republicans’ arguments, “we could not prevent the consequences they fear.”
He said that staying the lower court’s judgment “would not impose any binding obligation on any of the Pennsylvania officials who are responsible for the conduct of this year’s election.”
It’s unclear whether any justices voted to approve Republicans’ request for relief.
The decision took place less than a week before Pennsylvania voters head to the polls for the Nov. 5 elections.
Republicans asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling, stating that it was “so unreasonable that it violates the Elections and Electors Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.”
Republicans told Alito that the state court had issued its decision too close to the election, violating a legal principle against last-minute changes to election procedures known as the Purcell Principle, established by a case from 2006.
They told Alito that a stay would restore the status quo and “would not cause any voter confusion or chaos or application of new rules. It would simply require election officials to apply the exact same rules for processing provisional ballots that governed before that decision.”
At the very least, the Republican National Committee (RNC) argued, the justices should segregate provisional ballots received from individuals with defective mail-in ballots.
Alito said in a Nov. 1 statement that the highest court is unable to order a separation of ballots.
“[B]ecause the only state election officials who are parties in this case are the members of the board of elections in one small county, we cannot order other election boards to sequester affected ballots,” he wrote.
Democrats, the commonwealth, and county officials filed amicus briefs on Oct. 30 urging the Supreme Court not to grant Republicans’ request.
