In a partial victory for liberals in Pennsylvania, the State Supreme Court overturned a previous decision by a conservative lower court that ruled the state’s two-year-old mail-in voting law opens the door for voter fraud and should therefore be banned.
The State Supreme Court’s ruling is not the final word on the matter. According to The Morning Call, the inunction is temporary.
“The justices issued a one-paragraph order that overturned a Feb. 16 decision by Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt that would have pulled the plug on the state’s 2-year-old voting law,” The Morning Call reported.
The outlet added: “The Supreme Court planned to hold an oral argument regarding the legal challenge to the law Tuesday. The justices’ decision to invalidate Leavitt’s order gives them more time to rule without facing a one-week deadline. They said the law will remain in place, pending further action by the high court.”
In January, Commonwealth Court Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt ruled that the current law violates the state Constitution.
At the time of her ruling, Leavitt said, “Republicans who challenged the law are likely to prevail when the state Supreme Court reviews the case in March.”
The so-called “No-excuse mail-in voting [policy] makes the exercise of the franchise more convenient and has been used four times in the history of Pennsylvania,” Leavitt wrote in her opinion in late January.
“Approximately 1.38 million voters have expressed their interest in voting by mail permanently. If presented to the people, a constitutional amendment… is likely to be adopted. But a constitutional amendment must be presented to the people.”
Conservatives have assailed Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballot laws and vote counting policies, particularly laws that allow mail-in ballots to be recorded up to three days after the election so as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
Former President Donald Trump, who has been critical of policies that open the door for voter fraud, applauded January’s decision to safeguard the integrity of elections.
“Big news out of Pennsylvania, great patriotic spirit is developing at a level that nobody thought possible. Make America Great Again!” he wrote.
According to the Conservative Brief, the Democrat Pennsylvania State Attorney General supports the Supreme Court’s decision and vows to stop Republican efforts to move forward plans for election reform.
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