How to Challenge the PA Secretary of State's Election Chicanery

American Thinker ^ | 10 Dec, 2020 | Michael Iachetta

[MtnClimber]

This isn't an "equal protection" issue for voting integrity. It's a bit messier than that.

Much of the election controversy in PA had to do with guidance that PA secretary of state Kathy Boockvar gave election officials on the night before the election:

"At issue is guidance Boockvar's office gave to counties on the night before the election. Counties were told that as they began to process ballots on Election Day, they could share information with political parties about ballots that contained deficiencies, such as a missing signature or date, or a missing secrecy envelope." (See also here )

Has it occurred to anyone to ask why Secretary Boockvar waited until the night before the election to issue this guidance? Apparently, because factcheck.org asked Penn State professor Daniel Mallinson for an explanation. Mallinson helpfully explained that the guidance was "timely," because "counties were barred by state law from starting their review of mail in ballots until 7 am on election day."

With all due respect to Professor Mallinson, I think I may have a better answer. The short version is that it is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission. For the longer answer, we'll need to look at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's September 17 ruling concerning secrecy envelopes. In this decision, the Court ruled that a "mail-in elector's failure to [enclose] the ballot in the secrecy envelope renders the ballot invalid" (p.52).

It should be noted that this ruling was received with much hand-wringing and predictions of disenfranchisement from Democrats:

"[Philadelphia's city commissioner, Lisa M.] Deeley[,] estimated that if this ruling stands, and all absentee ballots arriving without sleeves are rejected, more than 100,000 ballots in Pennsylvania could be thrown out during the 2020 general election, based on estimates from previous elections

[MtnClimber]

I think the problem is much messier than the author describes.

[skr]

If you don’t follow the rules on the mail-in ballot form, you disenfranchise yourself alone. If the Elections offices ignore the rules and accept non-compliant ballots, they disenfranchise all of those who followed the rules. Self-disenfranchisement should never be the other voters’ problem.

[Liz]

Self-disenfranchisement should never be the other voters’ problem: if a voter doesn’t follow the rules
on mail-in ballot forms, the voter disenfranchises him/herself alone. If Election officials ignore the rules
and accept non-compliant ballots, they themselves, disenfranchise all of those who followed the rules.

Nice take.

[Liz]

The Texas lawsuit before the USSC argues that PA, GA, MI, and WI violated the Constitution by:
(A) changing election laws, thereby treating voters unequally, and, (B) allowed serious voting irregularities.

A BRILLIANT LEGAL ATTACK: Trump is asking that “every legal vote count,” that the court invalidate illegal votes.

Lower court judges would not hear voter fraud cases, deciding that, if they were to consider
Trump’s claims, they ran the risk of “disenfranchising” Biden voters........a singularly dishonest argument.
Disenfranchisement occurs when people are deprived of the right to vote.

No one was “deprived” of the vote here. So-called Biden “voters” all voted.

No one can disenfranchise a “voter” who was illegal from the get-go, particularly when that “Biden voter” is
<><> dead,
<><> an amorphous computer algorithm,
<><> or a paper form mfg in a Chinese print shop submitted as a voter.

[ConservativeInPA]

It's a bit messier than that.

It is much messier. We have a tyrant of a governor who appointed a transsexual Health Secretary. Together they destroyed the state's economy, small businesses, people's livelihoods, and murdered thousands of seniors all to one end: to elect anyone other than Trump. We have a communist as an Attorney General who does not know right from wrong. We have a State Supreme Court packed with Marxists - including the ones that call themselves Republicans. None of them have the honest ability to read and enforce the Commonwealth's constitution. The vast majority of the Republicans in the state legislature are cowards and have never done a conservative thing in their lives. This is even after they have a majority control of the legislature. We have our major cities packed with bLM and Antifa types. We have sanctuary cities packed with illegals.

Pennsylvanians allowed this to happen to themselves. Now our right to vote and have our vote count does not even exist to correct it. I am leaving Pennsylvania as soon as I can. I am never voting Republican again. I may not even vote again unless I live where there are free and fair elections.

[lepton]

There’s also testimony that the Dems were doing this ‘curing’ several days before ‘receiving that guidance.’