Pennsylvania Received 10,000 Mail-In Ballots after Election Day, Not Enough to Change Outcome of Presidential Race
Published Date: 11/11/2020
Source: news.yahoo.com
Pennsylvania received about 10,000 mail-in ballots between Election Day and the extended deadline of November 6, the state's top election official announced on Tuesday.The Pennsylvania supreme court ruled before the elections to extend the deadline for receiving mail-in ballots to November 6. President Trump and Republican allies have criticized the ruling, and Trump himself has claimed that votes received after November 3 should not be counted because they are "illegal." Republicans challenged the ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court, however the justices decided not to rule on the case before Election Day due to time constraints.However, as of Wednesday morning Joe Biden leads in Pennsylvania by over 45,000 votes with 99 percent of votes tallied. This means that even if the 10,000 mail-in ballots received after Election Day are eventually invalidated, Biden is still on track to win the state of Pennsylvania.The state will move to examine 94,000 "provisional ballots," which are issued to voters if there is a question about the person's eligibility.Republicans filed suit last week against the state's Democratic election officials alleging that they violated state law by telling party operatives the names of voters whose mail-in ballots had been rejected so that they would be given the opportunity to cast a provisional ballot instead. The plaintiffs argue the direction from the deputy elections secretary violates the state’s election code, which states “no person observing, attending or participating in a pre-canvass meeting may disclose the results of any portion of any pre-canvass meeting prior to the close of polls.”In response to the suit, a judge ordered that all provisional ballots be set aside so that they could ultimately be invalidated pending the ultimate outcome of the suit."The counties have done an impressive job counting a record number of mail ballots and now are canvassing the provisional ballots, each of which must be considered individually," Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat, said at a press conference on Tuesday. " I am so proud of the election officials and poll workers who worked tirelessly, amid a pandemic, so voters could decide this election."The president and allies have claimed that the election was "stolen" by Democrats working across several crucial states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Meanwhile, Trump is reportedly planning a leadership PAC to retain power within the Republican Party once Biden assumes office.