A federal court in Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit from several Republican members of Congress who wanted overseas ballots in the state to be set aside for additional vetting and potential exclusion from the election results. The lawsuit was filed just 36 days before the election, asking for new verification procedures and the segregation of overseas ballots. Judge Christopher Conner, a Bush appointee, ruled that implementing these changes last minute would disrupt the election administration process and potentially disenfranchise voters. The Republicans claimed Pennsylvania had exempted overseas ballot applications from certain federal verification requirements, but Democrats argued that there was no evidence of invalid ballots being submitted. Pennsylvania Secretary Al Schmidt also supported the dismissal of the case, questioning the timing of the challenge after thousands of overseas ballots had already been sent out. The lawsuit was part of a series of legal challenges to state election procedures leading up to the election, with courts in different states blocking last-minute rule changes. The Republican members of Congress, joined by Representative Scott Perry, did not provide a reason for bringing the lawsuit so close to the election. Lawyers for both the congressmen and Schmidt did not comment on the court’s decision.
Photo credit
www.usatoday.com
