Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. issued an Order on Friday evening requiring all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties to keep all ballots received after 8:00 p.m. on November 3 “in a secure, safe, sealed container separated from other voted ballots” and that “if counted, be counted separately.”
The Order was issued in a case already before the SCOTUS – Pennsylvania Republican Party v. Kathy Boockvar, Secretary of Pennsylvania, et.al.
That case was brought through a writ of certiorari – a request for SCOTUS to review a decision the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made that trumped a law the Pennsylvania Legislature enacted that requires ballots to be received on election day in order to be counted.
America’s high court was unable to issue a ruling as they were deadlocked 4-4.
However, in a dissenting opinion (written by Alito on his own behalf and Justices Thomas and Gorsuch) in response to the request for review, Alito made it clear that the Pennsylvania court created a potential hazard in this general election.
The Court’s handling of the important constitutional issue raised by this matter has needlessly created conditions that could lead to serious post-election problems. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has issued a decree that squarely alters an important statutory provision enacted by the Pennsylvania Legislature pursuant to its authority under the Constitution of the United States to make rules governing the conduct of elections for federal office.
Friday night’s SCOTUS Order requires all 67 county boards in the Keystone State to respond to the Order by 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 7.
In his Order Alito noted that the Court was not aware that all county election boards weren’t complying with the October 28 guidance issued by the Pennsylvania of State Kathy Boockvar.
Speculation indicated a small number of mail-in ballots were received after election day and already being set aside.
However, the Order also indicates that neither Secretary of State Boockvar, nor the Pennsylvania Republican Party is able to determine whether all of the state’s 67 boards were complying – this order will mandate it.
Even if ballots are postmarked November 3, undercover news source Project Veritas has released a video the group claims shows election fraud and mail tampering.
There is one case in Pennsylvania involving United States Postal Service Whistleblower Richard Hopkins.
Hopkins alleges he overheard his supervisor discussing backdating ballots that were received well after November 3.
https://twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1324845160358940673
If the whistleblower is correct it will be there is no telling how the ballots truly received before November 3 will be separated from ballots that were predated.
Hopkins also claims that federal investigators have talked with him and that he was asked to not report to work tomorrow.
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Jack Windsor is Managing Editor at both The Ohio Star and The Michigan Star. Windsor is also an Investigative Reporter at WMFD-TV and The Virginia Star. Follow Jack on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
