RNC pleads for the Supreme Court to intervene in Pennsylvania mail ballot case

The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Monday asked the Supreme Court to wade into a Pennsylvania mail-in ballot case, arguing the state Supreme Court "misread" the state Election Code.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled last week that voters can still cast provisional ballots in person this November if mail ballots are rejected for failing to follow procedural directions, such as not including the mandatory secrecy envelopes, which voters are required to sign and date. 

The RNC claimed the court misread state law, which says a “provisional ballot shall not be counted” if the mail ballot was received by county election officials in a timely manner.

“When the legislature says that certain ballots can never be counted, a state court cannot blue-pencil that clear command into always," the RNC's legal team wrote in their application. "Here, the General Assembly could not have been clearer."

The request on Monday went to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency appeals from Pennsylvania. Alito ordered the other parties to respond to the RNC by Wednesday. 

The request comes after more than 1.4 million mail-in ballots have been returned so far this year, The Hill reported. It also comes just over a week before the 2024 presidential election, where Pennsylvania is considered a critical swing state. 

The RNC has asked the Supreme Court to issue its ruling by Friday. If it cannot meet that deadline, the party asked for the disputed ballots to be counted separately.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.