Published 12:59 IST, November 7th 2020
US election 2020: In another blow to Trump, SC denies immediate halt of Pennsylvania count
A US Supreme Court Judge, on November 6, denied a request by the Pennsylvanian Republicans to immediately halt the counting of all ballots arriving later.
- World News
- 2 min read
A US Supreme Court Judge, on November 6, denied a request by the Pennsylvanian Republicans to immediately halt the counting of all ballots arriving in the state after November 3. Dismissing the petition, Samuel Alito ordered electoral officials in Pennsylvania to keep counting the late-arriving ballots separately, reiterating the decision made by top election official. The last-ditch petition for an emergency injection targeted thousands of ballots that are still left outstanding.
Petition to sperate post November 3 votes
The petition initially began by asking High Court to order the segregation of ballots arriving after the Election Day and those received before, in a bid to prevent post-election votes to be tallied. The concern was that if they are mixed with other ballots, it would render any attempt to disqualify them impossible. The petition directly reflects on Republican incumbent Donald Trump’s call to abandon all votes filed post November 3.
However, the latest petition aimed more broadly at delaying the eastern state's vote tally from being finalized, which would effectively hand the election to Biden. As per the latest tally by Associated Press, Biden has secured 33,37,069 votes while Trump has managed only 33,08,192. Despite the tremendous lead, there are over 1, 00,000 ballots still outstanding to be tallied.
Experts say that a delay could give the High Court the time to reopen the broader case of the legality of the late ballots. However, experts have claimed that even if the court does issue a stay on counting, it might not make a difference as the number of late ballots could be far fewer than Biden's lead over Trump in the state.
This comes as Trump warned that his Democratic rival Joe Biden “should not wrongfully claim” Presidency. Trump said that the legally authorized proceedings into the counting of mail-in ballots is “just the beginning”. Joe mustn’t “wrongfully claim” the President’s office, the US President said in a Tweet. In his new threats about the “election fraud” and “counting of illegal votes," Trump said, “Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!”
Image: AP
Updated 12:58 IST, November 7th 2020
