Texas Sen. Ted Cruz urged the US Supreme Court on Tuesday to hear the emergency appeal of a case involving a challenge to Pennsylvania’s November election.
Cruz released a statement which says the high court should hear the appeal in short order. The appeal to SCOTUS is brought by a group of Republicans – including US Rep. Mike Kelly and candidate Sean Parnell – who say Pennsylvania’s Act 77, passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf in 2019, violates the state’s Constitution.
“This appeal raises serious legal issues and I believe the Court should hear the case on an expedited basis,” Cruz writes.
Ted Cruz Asks US Supreme Court to Hear Pennsylvania Act 77 Lawsuit Now
Act 77 is the law which brought mass mail-in voting to Pennsylvania in time for the 2020 Primary and General elections. It’s mail-in ballots that eventually delivered Democrat candidate Joe Biden a perceived victory over President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes.
However, in the weeks since the election, numerous claims of fraud and possible ballot box stuffing have been made in connection with Pennsylvania’s election. Similar claims have been made in other key battleground states in the Presidential election campaign.
The lawsuit filed in late-November challenged the legality of Act 77, saying that any changes like this to Pennsylvania’s manner of voting must be done through a state Constitution amendment.
That was not done.
Instead, Act 77 was treated like most other legislation, getting passed by the Republican majority General Assembly and then signed into law by the Democrat Governor.
This lawsuit was brought before a Commonwealth Court judge who initially ordered a halt to the vote certification process in Pennsylvania, despite it coming after Wolf had named the electors to represent the state within the Electoral College.
Late last week, however, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit in its entirety with the plaintiffs promising to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
“This appeal argues that Pennsylvania cannot change the rules in the middle of the game,” Cruz writes in his statements to SCOTUS. “If Pennsylvania wants to change how voting occurs, the state must follow the law to do so. The illegality was compromised by a partisan Democrat Supreme Court in Pennsylvania, which has issued multiple decisions that reflect their political and ideological biases.”
“Rigged Election”
Cruz takes exception as to the reason why the state Supreme Court dismissed the Kelly-Parnell-et al lawsuit, a “legal doctrine called ‘laches’ which says the lawsuit and appeal were filed too late. The Texas Senator says the Pennsylvania high court applies that too inconsistently.
In closing his statement, Cruz appeals to the Supreme Court’s sense of judgement. He cited a recent Reuters poll showing 39% of Americans believe the 2020 Presidential election was “rigged” in favor of Biden.
“Ordinarily, the US Supreme Court would stay out of election disputes, especially concerning state law. But these are not ordinary times,” Cruz writes. “And I believe the US Supreme Court has a responsibilty to the American people to ensure that we are following the law and following the Constitution. Hearing this case – now, on an emergency expedited bases – would be an important step in helping rebuild confidence in the integrity of our democratic system.”
ALSO READ:
- Pennsylvania Judge Who Ordered Halt to Election Certification Believes Act 77 Lawsuit Has Merit
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Dismisses Act 77 Election Lawsuit
- Registered Democrat Poll Watcher in Philadelphia Experienced Harassment, Witnessed Possible Illegal Votes
- Judge Blocks Certifying Presidential Election in Pennsylvania – Hearing Set for Friday
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