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Ted Cruz urges US Supreme Court to take up Pennsylvania election challenge
Graeme Jennings/Washington Examiner/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Ted Cruz urges US Supreme Court to take up Pennsylvania election challenge

The Texas senator says the case 'raises serious legal issues'

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued a statement Tuesday urging the United States Supreme Court to hear an emergency appeal challenging the election results in the state of Pennsylvania, which was filed by fellow Republicans.

What are the details?

Last month, Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly (R) and GOP congressional candidate Sean Parnell filed a lawsuit in their home state that declared "universal mail-in voting unconstitutional in the state," according to KDKA-TV, who reported that the suit, if successful, would have resulted in throwing out "the votes of the majority of Pennsylvanians who voted by mail in the Nov. 3 election."

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously threw out the order, so Kelly and Parnell filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. high court. Sen. Cruz says the case has merit.

"This appeal raises serious legal issues, and I believe the Court should hear the case on an expedited basis," the senator wrote, noting that "the Pennsylvania Constitution requires in-person voting, except in narrow and defined circumstances," and that "late last year, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a law that purported to allow universal mail-in voting, notwithstanding the Pennsylvania Constitution's express prohibition."

Cruz, a litigator who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, also pointed out that "just over a month ago, Justice [Samuel] Alito, along with Justice [Clarence] Thomas and Justice [Neil] Gorsuch, wrote — correctly, I believe — concerning the Pennsylvania court's previous decision to count ballots received after Election Day, that 'there is a strong likelihood that the State Supreme Court decision violates the Federal Constitution.'"

He argued that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court put the plaintiffs "in a Catch-22" by telling them, in short, that "before the election, they lacked standing; after the election, they've delayed too long."

Cruz went on to acknowledge that the U.S. Supreme Court would typically not take up election cases dealing with state law, but that "these are not ordinary times."

The Texas Republican concluded:

As of today, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, 39 percent of Americans believe that "the election was rigged." That is not healthy for our democracy. The bitter division and acrimony we see across the nation needs resolution. And I believe the U.S. Supreme Court has a responsibility to the American people to ensure that we are following the law and following the Constitution. Hearing this case-now, on an emergency expedited basis-would be an important step in helping rebuild confidence in the integrity of our democratic system.

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