Law & order

 

US Supreme Court orders late Pennsylvania mail-in ballots to be set aside & counted separately from overall vote tally

A US Supreme Court Justice has ordered that mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania received after the election day deadline need to be segregated and counted separately. President Trump earlier alleged irregularities in the vote count.

In a temporary order on Friday, US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ruled that “all county boards of election” must abide by the guidance from October 28 and November 1 that requires all ballots received by mail after 8pm on the election day to “be segregated” and stored “in a secure, safe and sealed container separate from other voted ballots.”

Late ballots subject to the ruling will be then “counted separately,” the order states.

While Democrats have until 2pm (1900 GMT) on Saturday to respond to the decision, the order might be seen as a symbolic victory for the campaign of President Donald, which has repeatedly alleged that the counting process was marred with multiple irregularities.

On Thursday, Trump’s campaign filed a lawsuit alleging that their poll watchers were being barred from a counting center in Philadelphia. 

Trump himself accused Pensylvannia’s electoral officials of carrying the torch for the Democratic Party, saying that “partisan Democrats allowed the ballots to be received three days after the election.”