A federal appeals court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has dismissed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit to bring down the election results in Pennsylvania. The three-judge panel stated that the case can no longer be continued for want of evidence or specific allegations that will warrant throwing out the millions of ballots that the campaign is trying to contest.
All three of the judges were appointed by Republicans with two appointed by President George Bush and one appointed by Trump himself.
“One of the fundamental parts of our democracy is our free and fair election,” Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote for all three judges in the 21-page opinion. “Any attempt to besmirch the sacredness of elections must be done with specific allegations and solid proof, neither of which has been made available in this case.”
The judges explained that the present administration is trying to undermine the election in Pennsylvania just because the state didn’t allow the activities of poll watchers and allowed voters to correct some defects in their mail-in ballots. These, the judges stated are a part of Pennsylvania’s state laws and do not in any way constitute unconstitutional acts as the Trump campaign is claiming.
The opinion also stated that the complaint has been unable to make any specific allegations that ballots for trump received different treatments from ballots for President-elect Joe Biden.
“The claim has no merit as the number of ballots that are being specifically challenged is smaller than the 81,000-vote margin and the suit did not make any claims about fraud or illegal votes,” the judges continued.
The decision of the judges is following Pennsylvania’s final certification that Biden won the November 3 presidential election in the state.
The court also added that it would be impossible to throw out millions of mail-in ballots as the campaign has petitioned because it would be unheard of and rash. The judges continued that that would amount to disenfranchising a large number of voters, a step that largely outweighs the complaint placed before the court. As such it has refused to issue an injunction to throw out the ballots.
Jenna Ellis, the president’s lawyer tweeted after the ruling on Friday that the campaign will now proceed to the US Supreme Court to have their case heard after it was turned down in two lower courts. President Trump also tweeted on Saturday morning alleging that votes had been manufactured “out of thin air” for Biden and that he, instead should have won the election in Pennsylvania.
Trump has refused to concede defeat or stop his allegations about voter fraud, suppression of his supporters during the election, and other mind-blowing evidence-free claims. The ruling is just one of the many stumbling blocks that the Trump campaign is facing in its bid to overturn the results of the presidential election without providing substantial evidence for its claims.
Source: thedailybeast.com
