Thursday’s state Supreme Court ruling granting a 3-day extension to the deadline to count mail-in ballots was a victory for Democrats, but state Republican lawmakers had harsh criticism for the decision that they said “tramples the U.S. Constitution.”
“The PA Supreme Court has chosen National Constitution Day to trample on the fundamental principles on which our nation was founded,” read a joint statement from Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, and Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte.
“This ruling is not about ensuring fair elections — it is about allowing one party to steal this election. Under the Constitution, the responsibility to determine the times, places and manner of elections lies solely within the legislative process.”
The senate leaders said the Supreme Court dismissed the lower court’s findings, which “show(s) that this was never about the facts in this case. With today’s decision, the Supreme Court has overtaken the job constitutionally provided to the Legislature and made partisan decisions that run counter to ensuring election security and having results on Election Night,” Thursday’s statement read.
“It doesn’t matter what the process is for casting a ballot if the results are in question. Our goal as policy makers always has been to work in a bipartisan manner to fulfill our constitutional obligation to make sure everyone has the opportunity vote, confidence in the system and that the votes are counted in a timely manner,” the senators wrote.
Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. Senator, Pat Toomey, harshly criticized the decision as well.
“Once again, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided that laws have no meaning. The current state election statute, which was signed by Governor Wolf less than a year ago, is clear that mail-in ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted,” Toomey said. “(Thursday’s) blatantly political decision to violate the law irresponsibly heightens the risk that our state will experience a lengthy, disputed, and controversial outcome in what is expected to be an extremely close presidential race.”
A joint statement issued by Gov. Tom Wolf and Attorney General Josh Shapiro — Democrats — lauded the decision, calling it “a victory that will help ensure that every eligible voter will more easily be able to cast their ballot and have it counted fairly.”
The statement read, “(Thursday’s) ruling confirms that counties will be able to provide convenient secure options such as additional county election offices and drop boxes to increase accessibility for those who are voting by mail. It also means that ballots postmarked by election day and received by the Friday after the election will be counted.”
