Keystone Today

A Pennsylvania judge has ordered the state’s certification efforts halted so the court may hear arguments regarding the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s vote-by-mail statute—Act 77. 

Act 77, the plaintiffs in the case argue, was illegally implemented last year. They argue that the act is another attempt to override absentee voting limitations in the state’s constitution. 

In the order, Judge Patricia A. McCullough, who presides in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, said in the order that a hearing would be held virtually on Friday regarding the emergency motion, effectively stopping any certification of election results.

“Respondents are preliminarily enjoined from certifying the remaining results of the Election, pending the evidentiary hearing …” McCullough wrote in the order.

The plaintiffs in the case are U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Butler), along with several political candidates and voters. They claim Act 77 is illegal and unconstitutional.

“Despite the lack of constitutional authority to pass a universal mail-in voting scheme — a scheme which far eclipses any previously conscribed absentee voting scheme — the legislature proceeded to implement Act 77 anyway, in direct contravention of the Pennsylvania Constitution,” the complaint states.

There have been many issues in Pennsylvania as of late, including the woman running Philadelphia’s elections having her notary license revoked in 2018. Lisa Marie Deeley didn’t check the identification of a woman pretending to be the wife of a friend, Charles J. Costello, and by notarizing a document for Costello, she caused his actual wife to lose her rights to her husband’s death benefits. 

In an op-ed, Jennifer Stefano wrote that the state used COVID-19 to hurry through new voting rules that caused voters to grow suspicious of voter fraud in Philadelphia. 

Last month, Philadelphia was accused of not allowing poll watchers to observe when a Trump campaign poll watcher was turned away from observing early voting.