Republicans filed two lawsuits in the swing state of Pennsylvania after state officials said they would allow voters to submit provisional ballots if their mail-in version was deemed invalid.
The Election Day court filings come as the presidential election hangs in the balance, with about a half dozen states still counting their ballots.
In one legal battle, Republicans are arguing a state court must halt Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar and her agents from contacting voters who submitted invalid absentee ballots, allowing them to be “cured” by filling out a provisional ballot.
They say the move is illegal under the Pennsylvania election laws.
A similar lawsuit was filed in federal court officials in the Philadelphia suburb of Montgomery County.
“Not all counties in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania are giving voters the same opportunity to vote, jeopardizing the integrity of the 2020 election,” the complaint reads.
The filing also shows a photograph of mail-in ballots sitting on a table in the hallway of a county building, unsupervised.
“The ballots are near the main entrance of the building and are easily accessible by anyone entering or leaving the facility,” the filing states.
Pennsylvania, worth 20 electoral votes, is critical for President Trump to win to maintain his 2016 path to victory.
He is slightly ahead in the state, but mail-in ballots are allowed to be counted through 5 p.m. on Friday, suggesting a winner of the Keystone State could be unknown for days.
The president’s campaign had challenged Pennsylvania’s decision to allow mail-in votes to be counted through Friday. State law does not allow mail-in ballots to be counted before Election Day.
The Supreme Court did not step in before Election Day, but there is a possibility the challenge could end up back before the justices, putting the mail-in ballots counted after Nov. 3 in limbo.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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