Trump Urges Judge to Preserve Suit Over Pennsylvania Ballots
Sunday, 15 Nov 2020 1:32 PM
- Nov. 17(TUESDAY) hearing on the swing state’s (motion to dismiss the lawsuit)
- Nov. 19 (THURSDAY) - separate evidentiary hearing
- The case will be decided by U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
- NOV. 23 (NEXT MONDAY) PENNSYLVANIA IS DUE TO CERTIFY THE ELECTION RESULTS.
- Legal experts say the cases are weak and likely designed to reinforce a political strategy to undermine Biden rather than win in court. ( OUTCOME DETERMINTIVE)
US Election 2020: when do states certify their election results?
November 20 - Georgia
November 23 - Michigan, Pennsylvania
November 24 - Minnesota, North Carolina
November 30 - Arizona
December 1 - Nevada, Wisconsin
As the certification dates are created by the states themselves there is, in theory, nothing stopping them from missing their own deadlines.
If that were to happen they would risk forcing Congress to decide whether a slate of electors in legitimate.
This opens up the possibility that Republican-led state Senates could send Trump electors, in spite of how the state actually voted.
The Electoral College Votes will be cast and counted on
- 14 December, which must then be delivered to Vice President Mike Pence, in his capacity as Senate president by 23 December.
- When the new Congress is sworn in on 6 January one of their first tasks will be to officially count the vote and Pence will declare the winner.
- 20 January 2021, President-elect SWORN IN
From Newsmax - Trump Urges Judge to Preserve Suit Over Pennsylvania Ballots
https://www.newsmax.com/t/newsmax/article/997144/75
The Trump campaign urged a judge to preserve its bid to block Pennsylvania from certifying President-elect Joe Biden as the winner, claiming there’s evidence that voters in Democratic-leaning counties were improperly allowed to fix errors with their ballots.
- Legal experts say the cases are weak and likely designed to reinforce a political strategy to undermine Biden rather than win in court. ( OUTCOME DETERMINTIVE)
In a filing Sunday in federal court, the campaign said a half-dozen (12) Pennsylvania counties named in the suit illegally allowed voters who cast deficient ballots to cast replacement absentee and mail-in ballots before Election Day or provisional ballots on Nov. 3 to “cure” any issues.
- The case is Donald J. Trump For President Inc. v. Boockvar, 4:20-cv-02078, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (Williamsport).
- A hearing on the swing state’s (motion to dismiss the lawsuit) is set for Nov. 17, with a separate evidentiary hearing scheduled for two days later (Nov. 19).
- The case will be decided by U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
County Disparities
The suit is part of President Donald Trump’s last-ditch effort to reverse the result of the election, which he continues to claim without evidence was “rigged” against him by Democrats. A similar suit seeking to block Michigan from certifying the result for Biden is also pending. Legal experts say the cases are weak and likely designed to reinforce a political strategy to undermine Biden rather than win in court.
The campaign seeks to block Pennsylvania from certifying the result unless it scraps about 680,000 mail-in votes from the state’s most populous counties, which include the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas.
“Unless Bush v. Gore was much ado about nothing, presidential candidates of course have an interest in having lawful votes for them counted and unlawful votes for their opponent invalidated,” the filing said. “That’s particularly true in Pennsylvania, one of a few swing states where recounts or other litigation is ongoing and where the vote margin!!
The filing was made by campaign lawyer Linda Kerns, two days after attorneys with Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP walked away from the case. The campaign said that firm “buckled” under criticism from “leftist mobs.”
The campaign’s Sunday filing cited Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County, which Trump won, as an example of how things were done right, because election officials there “did not contact voters who submitted defective ballots or give them an opportunity to cure,” the filing said. “They simply followed the law and treated these ballots as invalid and refused to count them.”
Another plaintiff in the case, voter John Henry, alleges his defective vote was treated differently from those of voters in other counties in violation of the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
“In other words, Henry cast a defective ballot that was not counted, but another Pennsylvania voter in another county could cast the same defective ballot and have his vote counted -- solely based on place of residence,” the campaign said. “The Defendant counties’ insistence upon counting illegal ballots disparately favored Democratic-leaning counties over Republican-leaning counties.”
With almost all ballots counted in Pennsylvania, Biden is ahead by almost 66,000 votes or almost one full point.
The case is Donald J. Trump For President Inc. v. Boockvar, 4:20-cv-02078, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (Williamsport).
KEY - OUTCOME DETERMINATIVE
ALL CASES FILED COMBINED WOULD CHANGE THE OUTCOME WHERE WE SEE THE ELECTORAL VOTES RIGHT NOW
Several lawsuits have been filed over Pennsylvania's election practices, including when mail-in ballots must be received, whether voters can "cure" ballots without a signature and how close observers can stand to ballot counting.
Pennsylvania court: Secretary of state lacked authority to change deadline 2 days before Election Day
(Outcome-Determinative)
On Thursday, Leavitt
ruled that those ballots
shall not be counted.
This is one of several
legal challenges the
Trump campaign is
bringing in Pennsylvania.
On Friday they are
scheduled to have a
hearing over thousands
of ballots that they claim
were improperly counted
despite lacking required
information.
State law said that voters have until six days after the election — this year that was Nov. 9 — to cure problems regarding a lack of proof of identification. After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that mail-in ballots could be accepted three days after Election Day, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar submitted guidance that said proof of identification could be provided up until Nov. 12, which is six days from the ballot acceptance deadline. That guidance was issued two days before Election Day.
“[T]he Court concludes that Respondent Kathy Boockvar, in her official capacity as Secretary of the Commonwealth, lacked statutory authority to issue the November 1, 2020, guidance to Respondents County Boards of Elections insofar as that guidance purported to change the deadline … for certain electors to verify proof of identification,” Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt said in a court order.
EPOCH TIMES !!!
Twitter is flagging my question: Your government sent 1.1 million dead people stimulus checks. Wonder how many of these folks also voted absentee? 🤔
So, now it is unacceptable to pose questions?
Follow me on @parler_app and prepare for the day twitter silences debate. - SEN. RAND PAUL
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Monday that Biden's lack of access stems from the election being not yet ascertained by the General Services Administration -- a clear indication that the Biden transition team is not getting the same briefings that presidents-elect typically receive.
It remains unclear whether the race needs to be ascertained before the President-elect can legally receive the briefings. Biden has said that the daily briefings "would be useful, but it's not necessary."
Lankford on Wednesday also referenced the abbreviated 2000 transition, which a bipartisan 9/11 report said contributed to a lack of security preparedness ahead of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Here Are the Lawsuits Filed Over PA's Vote Count. Decision’s from these cases will set a precedent more than Bush vs. Gore in 2000, it will likely effect other lawsuits in key disputed states.
Several lawsuits have been filed over Pennsylvania's election practices, including when mail-in ballots must be received, whether voters can "cure" ballots without a signature and how close observers can stand to ballot counting.
Before we go into specific lawsuits.
- THE FOLLOWING AG’s ( State Attorney General’s) United in a joint lawsuit.
ATTORNEY GENERAL:
- OHIO
- KENTUCKY
- MISSOURI
- OKLAHOMA
- ALABAMA
- FLORIDA
- ARKANSAS
- LOUSIANA
- MISSISSIPPI
- SOUTH CAROLINA
- TEXAS
- SOUTH CAROLINA
- TEXAS
- SOUTH DAKOTA
In recent cases, state and federal courts across the country ignored black-letter election law.
With Nov. 3 looming, judges extended the statutory ballot deadlines by three days in Georgia, six in Wisconsin and 14 in Michigan.
Those orders were halted on appeal. After Minnesota progressives sued, a Democratic official agreed to bump the ballot deadline by a week, state law be damned.
An appeals court responded, five days before the election, by ordering that Minnesota’s late ballots be kept separate, leaving a second batch of votes in limbo.
The Supreme Court has already yanked the reins on the federal judiciary. Last month it restored South Carolina’s witness requirement for absentee ballots, which a federal judge had suspended.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s opinion there was cited days later, when an appeals court halted the Wisconsin deadline extension.
It’s trickier, in a federalist system, to correct state judges on a question of state law. But Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court doesn’t have free rein, especially given how far it strayed.
The U.S. Constitution vests state legislatures with authority over elections, and Pennsylvania lawmakers set an unequivocal ballot deadline.
Where did the state judges find the power to overrule it? They gestured at a provision of the state constitution, which vaguely says that elections “shall be free and equal.”
Several lawsuits have been files in Pennsylvania over counting election results.
Here are the key suits filed so far:
Republican Party of Pennsylvania v Boockvar
Filed in: U.S. Supreme Court
Decision 2020
Issue: The GOP is protesting the state Supreme Court's decision to allow mailed-in ballots three additional days to arrive. (They claim that violates federal law and the U.S. Constitution).
Status: The U.S. Supreme Court has already taken up this issue and voted on it 4-4, which meant the lower court ruling stands.
- The GOP has petitioned for another review.
- A motion from the Trump campaign to intervene is also pending.
On Friday, the Republican party also asked for an immediate order to stop counting disputed ballots.
Barnette v Lawrence
Filed in: Federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Issue: A Republican candidate for Congress sued Montgomery County officials, saying they opened and inspected mail ballots before election day, allowing voters a chance to "cure" defects such as an unsigned ballot.
- The suit sought a temporary restraining order.
Status: The request for a restraining order has since been withdrawn.
Hamm v Boockvar
Filed in: Pa. Commonwealth Court
Issue: Republican candidates for the U.S. House and Pennsylvania State House filed suit because the state gives some groups, including political parties, a list of voters who need to fix technical issues on ballots, such as missing signatures. Parties have reached out to those voters, who then can cast a provisional ballot.
- The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the practice.
Status: At a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Friday, the court ordered the Secretary of State to notify local election officials that they must set aside any provisional ballots that were cast by voters to fix problems with their mail-in ballots.
- Later, the court will decide whether those votes can be counted.
In Re: Canvassing Observation
Filed in: Commonwealth Court
Issue: An appeals court ordered Philadelphia to make it easier for observers to watch ballot handing on Thursday, a victory for the Trump campaign. -
- Philadelphia's ballot count was briefly halted as a result. In the meantime,Philadelphia asked the state Supreme Court to grant an appeal, and the city resumed the count.
Status: Acceptance for appeal pending.
Trump for President v Boockvar
Filed in: Commonwealth Court
Issue: Trump's campaign has sued the Pennsylvania Secretary of State, saying Nov. 9, not Nov. 12, should be the deadline for mail voters to supply missing proof of identification. The court has ordered ballots received in the extended period segregated.
Status: Pending
Trump for President v Philadelphia County Board of Elections
Filed in: Federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Issue: Seeks an emergency injunction to stop the vote count in Philadelphia until Republican observers are allowed better access to the canvassing tables. This is similar to one the campaign made Commonwealth Court that briefly halted the count Thursday morning.
Status: The two parties agreed to an accommodation like that in the similar Commonwealth Court case, with both the Trump and Biden campaigns entitled to 60 observers to watch the count.
Re: Motion for Injunctive Relief of Northampton County Republican Committee
Filed in: Northampton County Court
Issue: A group of Republican candidates are suing over pre-canvassing and the release of names of people whose ballots were rejected and needed to be cured, in a lawsuit similar to Hamm v Boockvar.
Status: Pending
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