Today, a Pennsylvania state court judge delivered an order defending election integrity. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court's order in Trump v. Boockvar held that the mail ballots of first-time voters who did not provide proof of identity by the statutory deadline could not be counted. The reasoning in the short order was important for the overall integrity of elections and inability of executive branch agencies to overturn election safeguards enacted by the legislature:

[The] Court concludes that Respondent Kathy Boockvar, in her official capacity as Secretary of the Commonwealth, lacked statutory authority to issue the November 1, 2020, guidance to Respondents County Board of Elections insofar as that guidance purported to change the deadline in Section 1308(h) of the Pennsylvania Election Code . . . for certain electors to verify proof of identification, based on Secretary Boockvar's interpretation and application of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in Pennsylvania Democratic Party v. Boockvar . . . .

Earlier today, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that the state would be conducting a hand recount of the Presidential race. Secretary of State Raffensperger noted that: "It will be an audit, a recount and a recanvass all at once." He expects the recount to be completed before the state's November 20th deadline to certify the results.

Trump Campaign Communications Director Tim Murtaugh told reporters earlier today: "This is an important first step in the process to ensure that the election was fair and that every legal vote was counted."

The days following Tuesday's election have been filled with uncertainty for many Americans. Some may be discouraged, but RNLA Co-Chair Harmeet Dhillon has a message for the American people: "Republican lawyers are fighting to stop the steal." 

The Trump Campaign has announced has announced litigation in Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. They will also be pursuing a recount in Wisconsin.

Election Day is here! Below are some highlights from the day before the polls closed.

In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to reinstate the Wisconsin absentee ballot deadline extension ordered by a lower court earlier this year and kept the deadline established by Wisconsin law in place. As a result, absentee ballots must be received by election day to be counted. This is another victory for the integrity of November's election.

As Election Day approaches, the serious election administration problems associated with the rapid increase of voting by-mail continue. These issues have been predicted by election experts on the right and left for many months, including the Lawyers Democracy Fund, but liberal pundits have continued to push voting by mail as the only way to vote this fall:

The COVID-19 public health crisis has led to a dramatic increase in the demand for mail voting.  While Lawyers Democracy Fund (LDF) asserts that the best and most secure way to cast a ballot is in person at a polling location, LDF understands the necessity for certain voters to have the option to vote by mail.  However, when states and jurisdictions attempt to increase the volume of mail voting without proper election infrastructure or without maintaining important election integrity safeguards, LDF sees no greater threat to safe, honest, and secure elections. . . .

Voting in person at a polling location decreases the chances of a ballot getting thrown out for simple errors.  Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of mail ballots were rejected in 2018 because of mail delays, minor technical defects, and voter errors – issues that do not occur with in-person voting.  Mail ballots are three times as likely to be rejected for various reasons than ballots cast in person, making voting in person a far more effective method of voting to ensure one’s vote actually counts.

Voting is officially underway for the 2020 general election across the country.  In states like Pennsylvania, there is concern about how recent changes to state law will affect the election, especially when considering the numerous problems that happened during the primary earlier this year.  In both the District of Columbia and in New York City, voting already seems to be just as fraught with issues as it was during the primaries.

With less than 50 days until Election Day, some northeastern states continue to struggle with voting by mail.  The most recent issues have arisen in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unique challenges for this year's primaries that give insight into how November's Presidential election will play out. Problems experienced in Georgia and Pennsylvania exposed weaknesses in local Democratic officials election administration plans, while Kentucky emerged as a model for how other states should proceed.