The United States Supreme Court issued an order late on Friday evening directing that the ballots received in Pennsylvania after Election Day must be segregated from the rest of the ballots and secured — and if counted, counted separately.
“All county boards of election are hereby ordered, pending further order of the Court, to comply with the following guidance provided by the Secretary of the Commonwealth on October 28 and November 1, namely, (1) that all ballots received by mail after 8:00 p.m. on November 3 be segregated and kept ‘in a secure, safe and sealed container separate from other voted ballots,’ and (2) that all such ballots, if counted, be counted separately,” Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the Order. “Pa. Dep’t of State, Pennsylvania Guidance for Mail-in and Absentee Ballots Received From the United States Postal Service After 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 (Oct. 28, 2020); Pa. Dep’t of State, Canvassing Segregated Mail-in and Civilian Absentee Ballots Received by Mail After 8:00 p .m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 and Before 5:00 p .m. on Friday, November 6, 2020 (Nov. 1, 2020).”
“Until today, this Court was not informed that the guidance issued on October 28, which had an important bearing on the question whether to order special treatment of the ballots in question, had been modified,” the Order continued. “The application received today also informs the Court that neither the applicant nor the Secretary has been able to verify that all boards are complying with the Secretary’s guidance, which, it is alleged, is not legally binding on them. I am immediately referring this application to the Conference and direct that any response be filed as soon as possible but in any event no later than 2 p.m. tomorrow, November 7, 2020.”
#SCOTUS orders county boards in Pennsylvania to segregate mail-in ballots received after 8 pm on Election Day. pic.twitter.com/Ias570QMbf
— Kimberly Robinson (@KimberlyRobinsn) November 7, 2020
Many of you have rightly noted that this segregating/securing was already supposed to be happening. PA GOP told SCOTUS today neither it nor the PA Sec of Commonwealth could get all the county boards of election to confirm they were actually complying. Now there's a SCOTUS Order.
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) November 7, 2020
The order comes as the Trump campaign is mounting legal cases in Pennsylvania and other states where election results are close and could determine who becomes president. President Donald Trump saw a massive lead in Pennsylvania of hundreds of thousands of votes on election night evaporate as election officials tally up vote-by-mail ballots.
“Biden is ahead by more than 14,500 votes in the Keystone State and the momentum has remained in his favor in a state with 20 electoral votes that President Donald Trump cannot afford to lose,” CNN reported. “On Friday afternoon, there were more than 110,000 vote-by-mail ballots left to count in Pennsylvania, officials said. Some of the ballots that are now being counted are provisional and many others will also need extra time and care, for reasons that include damage, legibility, signature issues or other defects.”
Trump tweeted late on Friday: “I had such a big lead in all of these states late into election night, only to see the leads miraculously disappear as the days went by. Perhaps these leads will return as our legal proceedings move forward!”
I had such a big lead in all of these states late into election night, only to see the leads miraculously disappear as the days went by. Perhaps these leads will return as our legal proceedings move forward!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2020
The president also called on Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden to not declare himself the winner.
“Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also,” Trump tweeted. “Legal proceedings are just now beginning!”
Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2020
This article has been expanded after publication to include additional information.