BREAKING: SCOTUS rejects GOP effort to overturn Pennsylvania election certification

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a GOP effort to reject the universal mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. It was an attempt to block the state’s election results Tuesday, and was a blow to the Republican efforts to overturn the general election.

Republican lawmakers, led by Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., took their election lawsuit to SCOTUS at the end of November, saying the universal mail in ballots used to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic were “unconstitutional, no-excuse absentee voting scheme.” The Republicans argued that the voter ballots cast in this process are not valid and should not be counted.

SCOTUS rejected the arguments from Republicans, which asked the court to put on hold any certifications, along with Pennsylvania’s certification for President-elect Joe Biden in the lawsuit.

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“The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied,” read the court’s order. Kelly’s lawsuit was filed Nov. 21.

This follows a lawsuit filed by Texas’s attorney general contesting the election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin arguing that changes to election procedures made during the pandemic in those states violated federal law. This suit asks the U.S. Supreme Court to block these states from voting in the Electoral College on December 14, but experts say that the lawsuit is a long shot.

You can follow Sara A. Carter on Parler @SaraCarterOfficial or on Twitter @SaraCarterDC

Douglas Braff contributed to this report.