Published 01:27 IST, December 10th 2020
US Supreme Court rejects Republican lawsuit seeking to flip Biden's win in Pennsylvania
Trump and his Republican allies had launched a lawsuit gambit against Presidential elect Joe Biden in an attempt to overturn the 2020 US election result.
The US Supreme Court on December 8 rejected the Republican party’s request to flip the 2020 election results in the battleground state of Pennsylvania that certified President-elect Joe Biden’s win. The Trump campaign had challenged new mail-in ballot processes in the swing state after the incumbent President lagged behind with 48.8 percent votes to Biden’s 50 percent lead in the Electoral College.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf had certified Biden’s victory and had scheduled a meeting for the state’s 20 electors for Dec. 14 to vote for Biden who currently holds 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 270, according to The Associated Press. Trump and his Republican allies had launched a lawsuit gambit against Democratic Party’s Presidential candidate Joe Biden in an attempt to overturn the election victory.
Last week, Pennsylvania’s top court had rejected Trump’s plea to reverse Biden’s win, a day after Michigan’s top elections board certified the former US Vice President as the winner. Michigan Board of State Canvassers had signed the certification following the 3-0 vote popular vote.
A Republican board member Aaron Van Langevelde had voted in favour of Biden, while GOP member Norm Shinkle had abstained, sources of NBC confirmed. However, Trump’s broader attempts to overturn the results in Pennsylvania and Nevada, which comprises six electoral votes, dramatically failed with Supreme Court dismissing the lawsuit.
About the lawsuit
The emergency request for Trump’s Republican Party was filed by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) and two other House candidates; however, the apex court Justices rejected the plea in a one-sentence order "ruling is denied" in the Keystone State. In a statement released by the lawyers representing Pennsylvania, it was alleged that granting an injunctive relief submitted to Justice Alito would sow chaos and confusion across America, inflaming "baseless concerns" about electoral impropriety.
Earlier, former US election security official Chris Krebs called on Trump and his allies to "reevaluate" action. Krebs, a former member of the US Department of Homeland Security and Trump’s ex-cybersecurity chief said that the US President was "undermining democracy" with conspiracy theories, and unsubstantiated and baseless allegations about election interference "that never happened".
Updated 01:27 IST, December 10th 2020