With the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last week, the Supreme Court has lost one of its most effective advocates for expanded voting rights, giving Republicans an advantage in the effort to suppress what's expected to be an unprecedented amount of mail-in votes ahead of the November election.
The GOP is already using the new dynamic to its advantage, asking the Supreme Court to review a recent Pennsylvania state court ruling that relaxed absentee voting deadlines in response to the pandemic. The ruling allows ballots received up to three days after the election to be counted, as long as they're postmarked by Election Day.
According to court documents reported by The Hill, the Pennsylvania GOP will ask the Supreme Court to review the ruling, after largely unfounded claims that it "creates a serious likelihood that Pennsylvania's imminent general election will be tainted by votes that were illegally cast or mailed after Election Day."
In a filing to secure a stay of the ruling from Pennsylvania's highest court, the Republican Party of Pennsylvania revealed its intention to soon file for certiorari, or standing, to have its case heard by the Supreme Court.
The filing reads:
"For that reason, [Republican Party of Pennsylvania] respectfully asks the Court for a partial stay of its September 17, 2020 judgment, pending disposition of RPP's forthcoming stay application and petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court."
For many, the effort of Pennsylvania's GOP was only a component to the broader goal of voter suppression under the Republican party.
They will do anything to try to steal this election because they know they don't have the will of the people behind them. https://t.co/XOOQI7c22P
— Patrick Giguere (@patrickgiqueer) September 22, 2020
Wow! Anti democracy GOP trying to limit the voting of its own citizens 🗿 https://t.co/I9BXb3vWDN
— Reign of Legends (@nitemaredianas) September 22, 2020
The Anti-Democracy party. https://t.co/LmmI5xU96v
— MT (@MasterTainment) September 22, 2020
Stay woke folks! The GOP is scared and will try to do whatever they can to suppress the vote. https://t.co/Ac8b44rezT
— Marvin L. Tiller, Jr., M.Div., M.Ed., M.A. (@RevMLTillerJr) September 22, 2020
Of course. The GOP knows it's going to lose and is pulling out all the stops. https://t.co/iv1DP1CHMU
— Kevin Powers (@kevinpowers70) September 22, 2020
Republicans, why are y'all afraid of letting the people vote? https://t.co/bbFB5TRCg3
— Kenton Hallinan (@kenticus) September 22, 2020
The brevity between Ginsburg's death and the filing didn't go unnoticed.
That didn't take long. Another reason to pick up the phone! 📞 https://t.co/uBRtNqBWiF https://t.co/lQkhSXc5Zp
— Christine Dickason (@christine_d11) September 22, 2020
Didn't wait long. https://t.co/8yV8z2xffq
— Ron Miller (@ron_miller) September 22, 2020
And it begins... https://t.co/VsGAXIKQDo
— Peter Schorsch (@PeterSchorschFL) September 22, 2020
With Republican Senator Mitt Romney's announcement that he intends to support the GOP's effort for immediate confirmation hearings, it's increasingly likely that Trump will appoint and confirm a new Supreme Court Justice before the election or inauguration day.
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