Spanish – Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud are still alive. This Wednesday, a Pennsylvania judge ordered state officials not to certify the results until her court holds a hearing on Friday.
According to information published by The Epoch Times, Judge Patricia McCullough ordered the state to take no further action to complete the certification of the presidential race, which took effect Tuesday.
“To the extent that there remains any further action to perfect the certification of the results of the 2020 General Election for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States of America, respondents are preliminarily enjoined from doing so, pending an evidentiary hearing to be held on Friday,” the court order said.
Parallel demands
McCullough has on her desk a lawsuit filed by Republican legislators and candidates against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Democratic Governor Tom Wolf, secretary of State Kathy Boockvar – also a Democrat – and the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
The secretary of State on Wednesday certified Democrat Joe Biden‘s victory by a difference of 80,555 votes, which the governor announced on his Twitter account.
This lawsuit alleges that Pennsylvania’s absentee ballot statute, Law 77, violates the state’s constitution. This case is separate from the federal lawsuit by President Donald Trump’s campaign, which seeks to overturn the certification in Pennsylvania, adds Newsmax.
Trump calls for “turning around” the election
Donald Trump does not give up. Despite having authorized the initiation of protocols for the transition, the Republican leader called on his supporters gathered at the Pennsylvania state legislature on Wednesday to “turn around” the election.
In the middle of a hearing in the legislature, President Trump made a phone call to encourage his supporters to take an important step in the still unfinished election process, as reported by the Washington Examiner.
“This was an election that we won easily— we won it by a lot… This election has to be turned around because we won Pennsylvania by a lot, and we won all of these swing states by a lot.”
.@realDonaldTrump calls into a PA legislature hearing on the 2020 election.
"This was an election that we won easily— we won it by a lot… This election has to be turned around because we won Pennsylvania by a lot and we won all of these swing states by a lot." pic.twitter.com/jdZr8cMpf0
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) November 25, 2020
The definitive election
Certification is a process before the appointment of state electors to the Electoral College. It is these representatives from the 50 states who actually elect the president at the December 14 vote.
If election officials are unable to certify results in time because of a delay, state legislatures- some held by Republicans- may step in and make the appropriate appointments.
Trump is now betting everything on two battlefields: state certifications and the Supreme Court. Although by tradition, state electors have historically given their vote to the candidate who wins the popular vote, this is not binding.
State electors or legislatures – the latter in case the election and appointment of electors cannot be certified in time – could vote for Trump even if the electoral vote projection is favorable to Biden. This is an unprecedented scenario, but it is entirely legal and possible. This year, it is gaining strength given the allegations of fraud and the doubts that have been raised about the transparency of the results.
The balance in the Supreme Court
The Republican also bets on the last judicial resort, the one that has the last word at the end of the day: the Supreme Court. In the country’s highest court- in theory, Trump has the balance in his favor. Of the nine Supreme Court justices, six are conservative or Republican-like.
Additionally, three of these justices were nominated by Donald Trump. The recent nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, confirmed by the Senate a week before the election, joins Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.