Pennsylvania to Respond to Kelly Request for Emergency Injunction -- by December 9
By Shipwreckedcrew | Dec 04, 2020 4:15 PM ET
It has now been posted on the Supreme Court’s docket for the case that Justice Alito has directed the attorneys for Pennsylvania to file a response to GOP Congressman Kelly’s Emergency Application for an Injunction to prevent the naming of Electors for Joe Biden by December 9. That date is meaningful.
The “Safe Harbor†provision for naming Electors is December 8. What that means is that Congress must accept as valid — without allowing any challenge — the Electors named by a State on or before December 8 if those Electors were chosen in the manner prescribed by state law. The Pennsylvania state officials are not, at this time, prevented by any court order from naming Electors for Joe Biden, and presumably, they will do so on or before December 8 as a result of the popular election which is the manner prescribed by the Pennsylvania legislature for naming Electors. That means those Electors must be accepted by Congress when the Electoral College reports the outcome of their vote.
Justice Alito’s order likely means there are not 5 votes to grant the emergency injunctive relief and prevent the naming of Pennsylvania’s electors — at least not with respect to the complaint filed by Congressman Kelly seeking to declare the entire “vote-by-mail†scheme enacted by the Pennsylvania legislature as a violation of Pennsylvania’s Constitution.
But the fact that he has ordered Pennsylvania to respond does suggest that there may be some sentiment in the Court to take up the case — likely in combination with other cases now before the Court regarding the Pennsylvania election process. It just won’t grant the injunctive relief that would be needed to give any kind of retrospective remedy that Cong. Kelly and the other plaintiffs are seeking. The easy justification for the Court is there is simply not enough time for the Court to take on such a monumental challenge given the stakes. AND, while the Court MIGHT agree that on the merits that the “vote-by-mail†scheme is invalid, there is no purpose in doing so at this point in time given the significant likelihood that it may only be Pennsylvania that ends up being flipped, and the outcome of the election remains the same. So, to do so on an accelerated timeframe, where briefing, research, and opinion drafting would have to occur at “warp speedâ€, is simply too much to ask.
more
https://redstate.com/shipwreckedcrew/2020/12/04/justice-alito-has-asked-pennsylvania-to-respond-to-kelly-complaint-and-request-for-emergency-injunction-by-dec-9-n289402
