US President Donald Trump’s ongoing legal battle over the election was handed a win on Wednesday when a judge halted the certification of Pennsylvania’s vote – a day after the governor said he’d certified Joe Biden as the winner.
“To the extent that there remains any further action to perfect the certification of the results of the 2020 General Election for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States of America, respondents are preliminarily enjoined from doing so, pending an evidentiary hearing to be held on Friday,” Commonwealth Judge Patricia McCullough announced on Wednesday.
While the president’s legal team has accused Pennsylvania of counting thousands of illegal ballots in the presidential election, the case McCullough is presiding over comes from Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania), Republican congressional candidate Sean Parnell, and Pennsylvania House of Representatives candidate Wanda Logan, who are alleging the state’s vote-by-mail system is against its constitution.
“Act 77 is the most expansive and fundamental change to the Pennsylvania voting code, implemented illegally, to date,” the lawsuit states.
The expansion of mail-in voting, they allege, was done “without first following the necessary procedure to amend the constitution to allow for the expansion.”
Act 77 was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf (D) in October of last year. It lengthened the time people had to vote early in elections, permanently placed residents on a list to receive ballot applications, gave more time to register, and provided funding for more “new voting systems.”
McCullough’s order has been celebrated by Trump supporters on social media, as it follows officials beginning the process to certify results on Tuesday, with Biden being declared the victor in the state. The ‘final’ vote had Biden ahead by over 80,000.
?BREAKING: Pennsylvania Court grants hearing in election integrity case challenging the constitutionality of Act 77 (mail-in ballots). pic.twitter.com/eHqtjnf4by
Actually, all of the steps for Pennsylvania certification may not yet be complete, & we just got a favorable order in The Commonwealth Court.Buckle up. https://t.co/GXzL1AJZKK
Judge halts Pennsylvania vote certification. The Kraken is alive and well.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said that an appeal will be filed through the state’s Supreme Court based on the new order, and warned it does not affect the “appointment of electors.”
This order does not impact yesterday’s appointment of electors. We will be filing an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court momentarily. https://t.co/wRzFwPvJIO
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