After Supreme Court turns away his attempt to invalidate mail-in voting in Pennsylvania, congressman calls decision “astounding.” None of the nine justices said case was worth hearing.
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly‘s court fight against the results of the presidential election in Pennsylvania has ended with a loss before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The decision, announced Monday, finishes off Kelly’s case.
The Supreme Court refused to hear the election case of Kelly, who started his legal fight against the results of the presidential race within weeks after fellow Republican Donald Trump lost the White House to Democrat Joe Biden.
The justices unanimously declined to approve Kelly’s petition that they hear his appeal by granting what is known as a writ of certiorari. The Supreme Court ruled without providing an explanation, which is typically how it announces whether it has granted appeal requests.
“The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied,” according to the order.
Kelly asked the high court to hear his appeal, in which he and other Republicans sought to eliminate mail-in voting in future Pennsylvania elections without further action.
Kelly, of Butler, whose 16th Congressional District includes Erie, wanted mail-in voting declared unconstitutional and eliminated unless Pennsylvania voters approve universal mail-in voting by amending the state constitution, a process that would take years.
Kelly, the lead plaintiff in the case, claimed that Act 77, the 2019 state law that authorized universal, no-excuses mail-in voting, was unconstitutional because of a lack of a constitutional amendment. Act 77 passed the GOP-controlled General Assembly with bipartisan support.
Kelly decried the Supreme Court’s decision.
“It is astounding that our nation’s highest court was unwilling to hear arguments in a case that called on the Court to require states to follow their own constitutions in the conduct of federal elections,” Kelly said in a statement. “Act 77 expressly violates the Pennsylvania Constitution and the only court to consider the merits acknowledged the strength of our argument and said we were likely to succeed.
“I call on the governor and the General Assembly to do the right thing by repealing the no-excuse mail-in voting system, starting the constitutional amendment process, and letting Pennsylvania voters decide the issue.”
The Supreme Court rejected Kelly’s appeal petition despite a conservative majority, including three justices whom Trump appointed — Amy Coney Barrett, Neal Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Only four of the nine justices must agree to grant a writ of certiorari, known as a cert petition, for a case to proceed to a hearing before the full court, which then decides the case based on majority rule.
Source : Agencies
