Supreme Court won't block counting of certain provisional ballots in battleground Pennsylvania
CBSN
Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday declined to freeze a decision from Pennsylvania's highest court that required election officials to count provisional ballots cast by people whose mail ballots are invalid because they lacked mandatory secrecy envelopes.
The order from the justices means that election officials in the key battleground state must tally provisional ballots submitted on Election Day by voters who returned defective mail ballots, either because they didn't include secrecy envelopes or failed to sign or date the outer envelope.
It's unclear how many provisional ballots will be counted as a result of the Supreme Court's order. In many counties, voters are notified when their mail ballot is likely disqualified and have the chance to request a new ballot or go to their polling places on Election Day to cast provisional ballots.
Legalizing marijuana at the national level is generally popular with Americans — 57% of people say marijuana should be legal for both medical and recreational purposes, while 32% say it should be legal for medical use only, according to a January Pew survey. Only 11% of Americans said it shouldn't be legal at all. The issue is one presidents have largely ignored, but Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have talked about the issue during the 2024 campaign.
Pennsylvania is a key stop on the road to the White House and a major focus of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump's campaigns. During the past two presidential elections — 2016 and 2020 — the ultimate winner held a slim voter margin in the Keystone State, making it a top priority for both the Democratic and Republican candidates.