Forget all the unanswered questions and unresolved issues swirling around the 2020 election. The U.S. Supreme Court, which appeared to be Donald Trump’s last best hope before it refused to hear a Texas lawsuit challenging election changes made in a number of battleground states, has effectively hammered the last nail in the coffin of his bid for re-election.
Yesterday the court announced that it was in no hurry to take action on the Trump campaign’s challenge to the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s rule changes to the electoral process. The court set a reply deadline of Jan. 22. for Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar and the other respondents named in the case. That’s two days after the inauguration of Joe Biden.
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The campaign had asked for the Supreme Court to order those on the other side of the litigation to respond by Wednesday and have reply briefs from the Trump campaign submitted by Thursday. It also asked the court to rule by Jan. 6. But the court did not oblige.
This means that by the time Boockvar and the others the Trump campaign is seeking to take to the Supreme Court even respond to the petition, President-elect Joe Biden will already be sworn in.
At that point, the court could simply decline to hear the case, saying it is moot or impossible for them to resolve at that point.
At issue in the case is whether a decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to extend the deadline for the receipt of mail-in ballots from 8 p.m. on Election Day to 5 p.m. three days later was in violation of the Federal Constitution. The petition also takes issue with the Keystone State’s unorthodox handling of signature verification, canvassing observation, and specific requirements for how voters must fill in mail ballots.
