Biden Gets Pennsylvania Boost as Court Sides with Democrats
Biden Gets Pennsylvania Boost as Court Sides with Democrats
(Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden’s fight for the crucial battleground of Pennsylvania got a boost on Thursday after the state’s highest court issued three rulings that were sought by Democrats, including a decree that mail-in ballots can be accepted up to three days after the election.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court also ruled that absentee ballots can be dropped off in more locations and that the Green Party’s candidate for president can’t appear on the November ballot.
The rulings come as Biden holds a 4.3% lead over President Donald Trump in the state, according to the RealClear Politics average of polls taken between Aug. 25 and Sept. 7. Trump, who won the state in 2016 by about 47,000 votes, has opposed expanded mail-in voting amid the pandemic.
Trump didn’t address the findings in a tweet on Thursday, focusing instead on another element of the decision.
As part of its rulings, the court noted that the two parties had “diametric positions” on interpreting state election law, a divergence of views that’s playing itself out across the country as Democrats seek to expand access to voting and Republicans warn of potential voter fraud.
In its ruling about drop boxes, the court said they allow more people to cast ballots without voting in-person or using the mail. Republicans said that allowing drop boxes would result in fraud.
The court’s decision that Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins can’t appear on the November ballot alleviated a concern among Democrats about votes being diverted away from Biden. The ruling reversed a lower court’s finding and removes the last obstacle to printing ballots in the state, where the case forced election officials to delay early voting that was supposed to start Monday.
It’s the latest setback for Hawkins, who was earlier kept off the ballot in another crucial state after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled it was too late to add the candidate because some ballots had already been sent out.
The Pennsylvania court ruled Hawkins failed to “strictly follow” procedures for getting on the ballot because he didn’t properly supply the necessary sworn affidavits and therefore ran afoul of state law. The errors included letters from the candidate’s signature being cut off in a fax that was sent without a cover letter.
A dissenting opinion said the matter should have been sent back to the lower court for further consideration, and that justices could have used their discretion to do so.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.