The United States Supreme Court will not hear the election lawsuit filed by local Congressman Mike Kelly.
It was the final appeal for the suit, which alleged that the state’s mail-in ballots were unconstitutional. Kelly filed the suit following this fall’s election and was hoping the nation’s highest court would hear the appeal.
Kelly had taken the case to state appellate courts, before reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. Ultimately, this was the last stop for the Kelly-led lawsuit.
Kelly issued a statement Monday morning following the 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. 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.”
Act 77 passed in 2019 with bipartisan support, although Republicans now argue that the state Supreme Court overstepped its reach by allowing a voting deadline extension due to the pandemic.
