Pennsylvania Court: Secretary of State did not have the power to change deadline 2 days before polling day



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A Pennsylvania judge ruled in favor of the Trump campaign on Thursday, ordering the state not to count ballots when voters were required to provide proof of identity and did not do so until November 9 .

According to state law, voters have up to six days after the election – this year it was November 9 – to resolve issues with lack of proof of identity. After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that mail-in ballots could be accepted three days after polling day, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar submitted guidelines that said proof of identity could be provided until November 12, ie six days from the acceptance of the ballot. deadline. This directive was published two days before election day.

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“[T]The Court concluded that respondent Kathy Boockvar, in her official capacity as Secretary of the Commonwealth, did not have statutory authority to issue the November 1, 2020 guidelines to respondent county electoral boards to the extent that those guidelines were intended to modify the deadline … for some voters to verify proof of identity, ”Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt said in a court order.

This was in line with the Trump campaign argument, which was that there was no basis in state law to extend the identification deadline, and that Boockvar did not have the power to do so. change unilaterally.

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar speaks during a press conference offering updates regarding the counting of the ballots in the general election, Wednesday, November 4, 2020, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo / Julio Cortez)

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar speaks during a press conference offering updates regarding the counting of the ballots in the general election, Wednesday, November 4, 2020, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo / Julio Cortez)

The court had previously ordered that all ballots for which voters provided proof of identity between November 10 and 12 be separated until a decision is made on what to do with it. them.

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On Thursday, Leavitt ruled those ballots would not be counted.

This is one of the many legal challenges that the Trump campaign brings to Pennsylvania. On Friday, they are expected to have a hearing on thousands of ballots which they believe were miscounted despite the lack of required information.

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Additionally, the campaign is awaiting Supreme Court action on whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court acted correctly in granting the three-day extension for accepting mail-in ballots.

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