Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Philadelphia County Board of Election’s challenge to a ruling requiring that election observers be granted closer access to vote tabulators, reports Politico.
The state’s high court said it would review whether the case is moot and whether a state judge erred in reversing a trial court’s decision that the board’s original regulations regarding observer and representative access complied with applicable Election Code requirements.
Counting will resume in the meantime, the court said.
A state judge last Thursday ordered Philadelphia officials to allow party and candidate observers to move closer to election workers processing mail-in ballots. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia board of elections said barriers were shifted in response to the order while the city appealed it.
“There are specific rules in Pennsylvania about where poll watchers can stand and what they can do,” said Suzanne Almeida, interim director of Common Cause Pennsylvania. “It applies to both parties equally. Everyone has the exact same access. This is not about disadvantaging one party over another.”
The number of poll watchers allowed at an election office varies. Some smaller offices might allow only a few inside, while larger ones could have dozens.
President Donald Trump has refused to concede the presidential race to Democratic challenger Joe Biden, citing voter fraud, though several news outlets have called the race for the former vice president.
Trump has sued several states to stop counting what he says are “illegal” votes, and has alleged that his campaign observers were blocked from ballot-counting rooms though he has not presented evidence.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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