“When people fear their government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty”
Thomas Jefferson
With just days before the 2020 election, the U.S. Supreme Court has twice within a week decided not to decide whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling to require ballots postmarked on or before the close of the polls on Election Day and received by 5:00 PM on November 6th to be counted.
Writing from himself and Justices Thomas and Gorsuch, Justice Alito dissented, stating there was "simply not enough time at this late date to decide the question before the election," … seemingly a victory for democracy.
Disturbingly, Alito added, "[this] does not mean … that the state court decision must escape our review."
If all of the votes of people casting their ballots in person prior to the polls closing on November 3rd are valid, then all of the ballots cast and postmarked before the close of the polls that night by registered voters who, in good faith, relied on the Commonwealth Court’s unambiguous ruling must likewise be counted, even if received within a few days after the election due to the time beyond their control it takes the United States Postal Service to securely collect, route and deliver them to the Bureau of Elections.
Given a narrow Biden victory in Pennsylvania, the likelihood of a court challenge by Trump and his legal minions is a given. For the Supreme Court to then intervene would be tragedy of enormous proportions in an already ultra-polarized political environment in which the president has attacked and tried to undermine many of our nation’s most trusted and cherished institutions.
