Thread by @Elaijuh

On the eve of Election Day, President Donald Trump is attacking Pennsylvania’s electoral system and raising the possibility of election-related violence.

Here are some facts and key context you should know about what’s going on.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1323430341512622080

First, and most important: There is absolutely no reason for election-related violence and it is dangerous and irresponsible to even suggest it as an outcome of the electoral process. If the courts say ballots should be counted, that should not lead to violence.

And of course, one way to reduce the risk of any violence relating to the election is for our elected leaders and candidates for office to urge calm, to call for peace, and to tell their supporters to wait for results and accept them when they are known.

If you’re interested in learning more about what’s actually happening with the U.S. Supreme Court and mail ballots in Pennsylvania, here’s a summary:

Pennsylvania law says mail ballots have to turned in and *received by county elections offices* by 8 p.m. on Election Day. It’s not a deadline about postmarks or anything like that.

But.

There was a lot of litigation about that this year.

Because of the pandemic, various lawsuits said, people would be disenfranchised by the deadline.

See, PA allows voters to request ballots up to one week before Election Day. So that’s just one week to request a ballot, have it approved, mailed to you, filled out, and returned.

In August, the Pennsylvania Department of State (which oversees elections) asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to extend the mail ballot deadline, citing mail delivery delays and disruption.

https://twitter.com/Elaijuh/status/1294068847876743171

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed. It extended the deadline, allowing ballots to be counted if they are received by mail up until 5 p.m. Friday and are either postmarked by Election Day or have missing or illegible postmarks.

https://twitter.com/Elaijuh/status/1306632860888170496

And yes, ballots do arrive without postmarks.

Postmarks are often not applied to prepaid postage, since they are meant to invalidate stamps. And PA is providing prepaid postage for mail ballots this election.

Philly in the primary:

https://twitter.com/Elaijuh/status/1276614915462172673

The state Republican Party and top Republican senators (GOP controls the state legislature) asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and overturn the PA Supreme Court’s ballot deadline extension.

Explanation for why:

https://twitter.com/Elaijuh/status/1308448830069837824

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 on whether to take up that request. With a tie, that meant they didn’t block the deadline extension.

A few days later, amid the confirmation hearings for now-Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the PA GOP asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case itself on its merits.

They also asked to fast-track it.

https://twitter.com/Elaijuh/status/1320024759136968704

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to fast-track the case. But it’s still before the court and they could still decide to take it up and rule on it, including reversing the state court’s extension and throwing out those votes.

https://twitter.com/Elaijuh/status/1321563805030166540

In the meantime, counties are segregating the ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. tomorrow and counting them separately so they can ultimately be included or removed from the vote totals based on however the court rules.

https://twitter.com/Elaijuh/status/1321520703636721667

So the U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t necessarily had its final say here and hasn’t ruled on question of whether the PA Supreme Court’s mail ballot deadline extension violates the U.S. Constitution — as the PA GOP argues — by taking state legis’ power to decide how elections are run.