Supreme Court Upholds Pennsylvania’s Provisional Ballot Count, Dismissing Republican Challenge
The US Supreme Court denied an emergency appeal from the Republican party to prevent thousands of provisional ballots being counted in Pennsylvania. The justices have upheld a ruling by the state’s Supreme Court that demanded election officials count provisional votes from people whose mailed votes were rejected. The ruling has been welcomed by supporters of voters’ rights, who have forced predominantly Republican-controlled counties to let electors cast a provisional vote at the polls if their postal vote is rejected due to an error. By contrast, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court rejected a last-minute plea by campaigners for voters’ rights to ensure postal votes will still be counted even if they lack an accurate, handwritten date on the envelope.
John Q. Hosedrinker