Pennsylvania Judge Patricia McCullough issued an injunction blocking any further certification of election results in the Keystone State. Judge McCullough ordered the injunction after a case brought by Pennsylvania voters alleged a state law allowing no-excuse absentee voting violates the Pennsylvania constitution.
Fox News reports:
“[T]o the extent that there remains any further action to perfect the certification of the results of the 2020 General Election … for the office of President and Vice President of the United States of America, Respondents are preliminarily enjoined from doing so, pending an evidentiary hearing[,]’” McCullough wrote.
Pennsylvania officials have already filed a note of appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asking for a review of Judge McCullough’s injunction. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro pointed out the order will not have a large impact on the election results due to the fact the results have already been certified and electors have been chosen.
This order does not impact yesterday’s appointment of electors. We will be filing an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court momentarily. https://t.co/wRzFwPvJIO
— Michelle Henry (@PAAttorneyGen) November 25, 2020
The complaint in the case centers on Act 77, which the plaintiffs called “the most expansive and fundamental change to the Pennsylvania election code to date.” That law expanded mail-in voting, even though Article VII, Section 14 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which covers absentee voting, is very narrow in its scope of who can participate.
That law says that the state legislature shall provide a manner of voting for people who will be outside of their municipality “because their duties, occupation or business require them to be elsewhere or who, on the occurrence of any election, are unable to attend at their proper polling places because of illness or physical disability or who will not attend a polling place because of the observance of a religious holiday or who cannot vote because of election day duties, in the case of a county employee, may vote, and for the return and canvass of their votes in the election district in which they respectively reside.”
The lawsuit claims that Pennsylvania’s mail-in votes are invalid because in order to expand absentee voting, a constitutional amendment is required, not simply the passing of a bill.
A hearing will be held Friday. Until then state officials are temporarily barred from certifying the results of any other election in the state which have yet to be certified.
