Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE
CHECK OUT WeThePeople.store for best SWAG!
The Pennsylvania appellate court judge who issued a temporary injunction Wednesday against the state certifying its 2020 election results released an accompanying opinion Friday explaining her decision.
In the opinion, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough predicted that the plaintiffs in the case will ultimately win the battle they’re waging in the Keystone State.
“Petitioners appear to have established a likelihood to succeed on the merits because petitioners have asserted the Constitution does not provide a mechanism for the legislature to allow for expansion of absentee voting without a constitutional amendment,” she wrote.
“Petitioners appear to have a viable claim that the mail-in ballot procedures set forth in Act 77 contravene [a provision in the state’s Constitution] as the plain language of that constitutional provision is at odds with the mail-in provisions of Act 77.”
Signed into law in October of 2019, Act 77 granted state residents the right to request an absentee ballot without providing a legitimate reason.
Prior to the law’s implementation, legitimate reasons — or “excuses,” as they were called — included being a college student, being someone who works or is vacationing somewhere else, being someone with a physical disability, being someone in the military, or being someone with a religious conflict (i.e., Election Day is the same as their religion’s holiday).
The plaintiffs argued that, by tossing out these excuses, the state had simply implemented universal mail-in voting by disguising it as no-excuse absentee voting and claimed the move lacked “constitutional authority.”
McCullough appeared to agree.
“Since this presents an issue of law which has already been thoroughly briefed by the parties, this Court can state that Petitioners have a likelihood of success on the merits of its Pennsylvania Constitutional claim,” she added.
View her ruling below:
Memorandum Opinion Filed in… by Jim Hoft
That’s presumably good news for President Donald Trump, assuming the ruling sticks, though it should be noted this particular case wasn’t filed by his legal team.
This case was instead filed by Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly and seven other petitioners, including Sean Parnell, Thomas A. Frank, Nancy Kierzek, Derek Magee, Robin Sauter, Michael Kincaid and Wanda Logan.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, and several of his top officials have reportedly appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to toss the case.
“Since the birth of our nation nearly 250 years ago, no court has ever issued an order purporting to interfere with a state’s ascertainment of its presidential electors — until today. There is no conceivable justification for the lower court’s issuance of such an order in this case,” they reportedly wrote in an appeal filed after McCullough’s Wednesday ruling.
It seems the opinion that McCullough released Friday may have been written in response to these allegations of there being “no conceivable justification” for her ruling.
“The order purports to interfere with the ongoing process of seating presidential electors and precludes certification of any other result from the 2020 general election. This extraordinary act of judicial overreach threatens to undermine the integrity of Pennsylvania’s elections and reduce public confidence in them,” the appeal continued.
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
— AG Josh Shapiro (@PAAttorneyGen) November 25, 2020
In the federal case filed by the president’s legal team, the results have been vastly different, though that’s not a bad thing. The differing results strongly suggest the conservative-leaning Supreme Court will eventually have to settle the matter.
In its own ruling Friday, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused the campaign’s own demands that Pennsylvania’s certification process be halted.
“Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here,” a three-judge panel ruled.
“The case had been argued last week in a lower court by Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who insisted during five hours of oral arguments that the 2020 presidential election had been marred by widespread fraud in Pennsylvania,” The Guardian notes.
“The US district judge Matthew Brann had said the campaign’s error-filled complaint, ‘like Frankenstein’s Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together’ and denied Giuliani the right to amend it for a second time.”
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals apparently agreed, though again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Responding to this ruling, Trump’s 2020 campaign senior adviser Jenna Ellis tweeted, “On to SCOTUS!”
Look:
.@RudyGiuliani and me on Third Circuit’s opinion:
The activist judicial machinery in Pennsylvania continues to cover up the allegations of massive fraud.
We are very thankful to have had the opportunity to present proof and the facts to the PA state legislature.
On to SCOTUS!
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) November 27, 2020
And that’s truly what it’s all about. In the grander scheme of things, neither the victory from McCullough nor the defeat from the 3rd Circuit mean anything — they’re just markers on a lengthy road that ultimately leads to the Supreme Court.
Like Giuliani and Ellis wrote in a joint statement following Brann’s ruling a week earlier, “Today’s decision turns out to help us in our strategy to get expeditiously to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although we fully disagree with this opinion, we’re thankful to the Obama-appointed judge for making this anticipated decision quickly, rather than simply trying to run out the clock.”
Why Trump’s team THANKED Obama-appointed judge who rejected Pennsylvania case as ‘unhinged’ https://t.co/FOSNAHGwOu
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) November 22, 2020
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
Vivek@bizpacreview.com
V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
- ‘It must be an insurrection’: Pro-Palestine protestors fill California State Capitol, force lawmakers to adjourn early - January 5, 2024
- ‘I enjoy making men uncomfortable’: Critics predict ‘Disney’s biggest flop yet’ as feminist director’s past comments resurface - January 5, 2024
- Musk SCORCHES Mark Cuban with one line in DEI debate: ‘Cool, so when should we expect …’ - January 5, 2024
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
