Justice Alito bumps up date on Pennsylvania election suit to safe harbor Electoral College deadline

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has ordered Pennsylvania officials to respond to a legal challenge from GOP Rep. Mike Kelly concerning the results of the Nov. 3 election one day earlier than previously scheduled.

Kelly is attempting to have the court eliminate all mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. He is arguing that the way the system worked in his state on Election Day was unconstitutional and would have required a constitutional amendment to authorize the system.

Kelly's long-shot attempt to have 2.5 million mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania discounted would allow for a situation in which the Republican-led state legislature voted on the outcome of the election, essentially guaranteeing President Trump a victory in the Keystone State.

Alito initially scheduled the hearing for Dec. 9, but has since moved the date up to 9 a.m. on Tuesday December 8. December 8 is the "safe harbor" deadline for the Electoral College, meaning that if a state certifies its election results and figures out who the members of its Electoral College are going to be six days in advance of the college's meeting on Dec. 14, an extra layer of federal protection is added to the decision. 

The rushed hearing date will allow the court several hours to act on the information presented before state certification becomes official.