Republicans ask US Supreme Court to block Pennsylvania provisional ballots decision

Republicans asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to block a judicial decision from Pennsylvania requiring the counting of provisional ballots cast by voters who make mistakes on their mail-in ballots, potentially affecting thousands of votes in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The Republican National Committee and Republican Party of Pennsylvania asked the justices to put on hold the Oct. 23 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling in favor of two Butler County voters who sought to have their provisional ballots counted after their mail-in ballots were rejected during that state's primary election for lacking secrecy envelopes.

Pennsylvania is one of a handful of closely contested states expected to decide the outcome of the presidential race between Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Republicans in their filing said that Pennsylvania's top court has undermined the state legislature's authority and changed rules too close to the election.

"This is an egregious usurpation of the General Assembly's constitutional authority to set rules for federal elections," the Republicans wrote.

If the justices are not inclined to pause the state court's ruling in its entirety, the Republicans asked for an order segregating the provisional ballots at issue in the case, which potentially would give the U.S. Supreme Court time to review the legal dispute after the election. — Reuters