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A Pennsylvania appellate judge on Wednesday ordered state officials not to take any more action toward certifying the state’s presidential election results.
According to an Associated Press report, Republican Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough had scheduled a hearing for today, but canceled it after Gov. Tom Wolf immediately appealed her order.
Judge McCullough granted the emergency injunction “to the extent that there remains any further action to perfect the certification of the results of the 2020 General Election President of the United States of America, Respondents are preliminarily enjoined from doing so, pending an evidentiary hearing.”
The judge also ordered a preliminary injunction stopping the state from certifying “the remaining results of the election.”
It wasn’t clear whether Judge McCullough planned to halt state and local contest certifications or interrupt the meeting of Pennsylvania’s 20 electors set for Dec. 14, according to the AP.
“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,” Wolf’s appeal said, according to Bloomberg. “There is no conceivable justification for the lower court’s issuance of such an order in this case.”
Judge McCullough’s order “purports to interfere with the ongoing process of seating presidential electors and precludes certification of any other result from the 2020 general election,” the appeal said, according to Bloomberg. “This extraordinary act of judicial overreach threatens to undermine the integrity of Pennsylvania’s elections and reduce public confidence in them.”
Wolf said Tuesday he had certified President-elect Joe Biden as the winner in the state, WFMZ-TV reported.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro tweeted Judge McCullough’s order has no effect on the appointment of electors, according to WFMZ.
“This order does not impact yesterday’s appointment of electors,” Shapiro’s tweet said. “We will be filing an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court momentarily.”
The lawsuit was filed Saturday by lead plaintiff Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly and others, challenging about 2.5 million mail-in ballots, most of which were cast by Democrats, the AP reported. They alleged the state legislature had not followed the correct procedures when they voted in 2019 to expand access to mail-in voting.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar certified the state’s presidential election results Tuesday, committing Pennsylvania’s electors to Biden. The counties’ totals were submitted late Monday.
The state’s final presidential election results showed Biden won by 80,555 votes.
President Donald Trump, who has launched a number of legal challenges contesting the results in Pennsylvania and other states, so far has refused to concede the election, though he did say Thursday he would leave the White House if the Electoral College elects Biden, according to the AP. Trump’s concession is not required in order for Biden to become the next U.S. president.
The Trump campaign on Friday lost an appeal filed Sunday in the 3rd Circuit after a U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann on Saturday issued a decisive dismissal of the campaign’s lawsuit — separate from the Kelly case — seeking to stop the vote certification.
A panel of three federal judges — all nominated by Republican presidents – rejected the appeal, saying the claims being made by the campaign “have no merit,” according to CNBC.
“Calling an election unfair does not make it so,” the opinion read, according to CNBC. “Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”
The 3rd Circuit’s decision means Judge Brann’s ruling will stand.
Judge Brann wrote the case presented “strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations.”
The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, denying the Trump campaign the ability to submit a second revision of their lawsuit. That decision led to the campaign’s appeal.
Before it was dismissed, the appeal also hit a snag regarding counsel.
Trump counsel and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is currently not certified in the 3rd Circuit.
In a letter to the 3rd Circuit clerk’s office, Trump campaign co-counsel Marc A. Scaring asked that Giuliani, who is admitted to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals be allowed to argue the case.
According to the letter, dated Nov. 25, Giuliani “has not been able to obtain the necessary certifications due to COVID-19 complications with government entities in New York.”
The letter also argued that oral arguments were appropriate in this case, “if that would assist the Court.”
“Over 70 million Americans voted for President Donald J. Trump,” the letter said. ‘The Campaign’s claims should be heard on the merits, and not dismissed for perceived procedural irregularities. America’s voters need to have confidence in our electoral system, including those who administer it, and the judiciary which reviews that administration.”
According to the Associated Press, all challenges to election results must be resolved by Dec. 8.
What do you think of the judge’s decision to halt Pennsylvania’s vote certification process? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
The plaintiffs in the Kelly lawsuit are represented by Gregory Teufel of OGC Law LLC and Brandon M. Shields of Gabriel & Shields, according to Law360.
The Pennsylvania Election Results Lawsuit is Mike Kelley, et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al., Case No. 620 MD 2020 in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.
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3 thoughts onPennsylvania Judge Halts Election Certification Pending Hearing; Trump Loses 3rd Circuit Appeal
I do not believe my vote was counted I did not receive a stub. This election was rigged for Biden to win in PA
I was one of the people robbed of my vote by mail in ballot as it was not counted properly and I reported a suspicious person who was going door to door asking people if they were voting absentee ballot if they wanted him to collect the ballot from the voter to be hand delivered to the county voters registration office nothing was done and i couldnt do a follow up as I had no way to do so.
Finally a judge willing to tell Emperor Wolfe to follow the constitution maybe there are some honest elected officials left in PA. Stop the steal