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Democrats scored two major Supreme Court victories in cases involving deadlines for counting votes by mail.
The Pennsylvania and North Carolina Election Commission has decided that mail-in votes received several days after Election Day on November 3 can be received and counted.
Local courts have also granted the deadlines.
However, Republicans have asked the Supreme Court to reverse the decision to extend the deadline for the counting of votes by mail in the two states.
The Supreme Court heard the cases on Wednesday and ruled that the decision of the Electoral Commission in the respective states should not be overturned. They justify the decision by claiming that the postal service may be affected by delays.
Three voted against
It was the three conservative Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, who voted against the extended term decisions.
Many more Democrats than Republicans are expected to use the vote by mail. If a lot of mail-in votes were invalidated in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, it could theoretically benefit President Donald Trump in that there will be fewer votes for Joe Biden in the important swing states.
Also read: How Barrett can ensure that Trump wins important electoral victories
Bright with its absence
Amy Coney Barrett, who was sworn in as the new Supreme Court Justice this week, started at the new job Tuesday. However, it decided to refrain from participating in the processing of vote-by-mail cases on Wednesday.
Barrett is the third conservative Supreme Court justice Trump has appointed during his presidency, and she provides an overwhelming conservative majority among the nine Supreme Court justices. Republicans now have six of the nine justices on the Supreme Court.
Barrett indicated through a court spokeswoman, Kathy Arberg, that vote-by-mail cases required speedy processing and that she hasn’t had enough time to familiarize herself with the legal arguments, writes The Washington Post.
The result in the cases was 5 to 3 votes, so Barrett probably would not have affected the result if he had participated in the treatment.
The deadline for counting in North Carolina is set at nine days after Election Day. While Pennsylvania gets the deadline extended to three days after the election.
Also read: – A wrong statement can stop Trump
Can be treated again
Pennsylvania was one of several crucial victories for Trump in 2016, and it is an important piece if he is to be reelected in 2020.
But the case of votes by mail in Pennsylvania is not necessarily solved once and for all.
It is the state’s own Supreme Court that initially granted an extended deadline for counting votes by mail in Pennsylvania. The three conservative US Supreme Court justices, who wanted to overturn the state court decision, have noted that the case can be re-examined after Election Day.
Also read: Last night, Trump showed that he is a trustworthy man
– May be unconstitutional
The three conservative Supreme Court justices have even indicated that mail ballots received after Election Day could ultimately be declared invalid, writes The Washington Post. All three justices believe that the statewide Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling granting the deadline may be unconstitutional.
“It is highly probable that the decision of the State Supreme Court is contrary to the federal constitution,” the three judges wrote in a statement.
Over the past few days, the Supreme Court has dealt with three cases involving mail ballots and deadlines. However, the court decided to overturn an extended deadline for counting mail-in ballots in the state of Wisconsin, which is also a watershed state.
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