The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a Republican appeal to
undo the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in
Pennsylvania.
The
decision is a body blow to the long-shot effort to throw the
election to the GOP-controlled Pennsylvania legislature, a move
President Trump supports. The Court’s order did not give reasons
for denying the appeal, which is standard practice for such
decisions, and there was no noted dissent.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett apparently participated in the
decision, despite Democratic calls for her recusal. Her supposed
bias in election matters was a major feature of Democratic
opposition to her confirmation.
Rep. Mike Kelly (R., Pa.) led a group of Pennsylvania lawmakers
who asked the High Court to undo the certification of results in
the Keystone State. He argued that the massive expansion of
no-excuse mail-in voting violated the state constitution and that
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court wrongfully tossed his legal
challenge to that move.
“They make that request without any acknowledgment of the
staggering upheaval, turmoil, and acrimony it would unleash,”
attorneys for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania countered in legal
filings. They added that a decision favoring Kelly would rank as
one of the most “disruptive invocations of judicial power in the
history of the Republic.”
Kelly’s appeal faced steep odds, since the Supreme Court usually
lets state courts have the final word on state law. The order
denying Kelly’s appeal came only hours after lawyers for the
congressman filed their last legal brief.
Timing was a major factor in the dispute. Federal law requires
Congress to recognize a state’s electors if they have been
appointed as of Tuesday, as Pennsylvania’s have. As such, it wasn’t
clear that legal challenges to Pennsylvania’s results were still
viable. The Electoral College will cast its votes on Monday, Dec.
14, which could snuff out remaining challenges. Judicial orders
interfering with the Electoral College would be unprecedented.
The case is No. 20A98 Kelly v. Pennsylvania.
The post
Supreme Court Rejects GOP Bid to Undo Biden Victory in
Pennsylvania appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
