Pennsylvania court rejects challenge to late mail-in ballots in blow to Trump

In the Friday decision, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge David Brooks Smith ruled Pennsylvania votes will count under the rules voters were given when they cast their ballots and stated in the decision “we do so with commitment to a proposition indisputable in our democratic process: that the lawfully cast vote of every citizen must count.”

Per the WashingtonExaminer “Individual citizens lacked standing in the case, according to the ruling, which stated that under Article III, the plaintiffs “have not suffered a concrete, particularized, and non-speculative injury,” necessary to bring the case under the U.S. Constitution.

The decision also agreed with a lower court ruling[contentad widget=”427100″] to deny a last-minute injunction just before Election Day because it would have “upended the status quo.”‘

Neal Katyal tweeted “This is a huge loss for Trump&a very big deal. Decn written by Chief Judge Smith (Reagan/Bush nominated)+joined by Judge Scirica (legendary conservative Reagan nominee). Its rationales are cross cutting across ALL litigation, that challengers lack standing and filed case too late”

He added “The Purcell holding is absolutely devastating for Trump’s future litigation efforts. Coming from this conservative panel, and saying that fed cts can’t interfere so close to an election, destroys any hope Trump thought he had. He can try to get SCOTUS to flip it, but very tough.”