But just hours after Kelly filed that appeal Thursday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. crafted a telling schedule for the case, giving state officials until Dec. 9 to file their reply.
That date set by Alito — who oversees emergency matters arising from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware for the court — comes one day after what is known as the "safe harbor date," the federal deadline for states to resolve any outstanding challenges to their elections. Beyond it, the state's slate of appointed electors is considered to be locked in for the Dec. 14 Electoral College vote.
It is still possible — though, election law experts said, unlikely — that the Supreme Court could decide to consider Kelly's appeal about the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's mail voting law outside the context of the 2020 election.
But the schedule laid out by Alito appeared to foreclose any chance of the court weighing in before its outcome had been finalized.
8号是Safe Harbor Deadline
But just hours after Kelly filed that appeal Thursday, U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. crafted a telling schedule for the case, giving state officials until Dec. 9 to file their reply.
That date set by Alito — who oversees emergency matters arising from
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware for the court — comes one day after
what is known as the "safe harbor date," the federal deadline for states to resolve any outstanding challenges to their elections. Beyond it, the state's slate of appointed electors is considered to be locked in for the Dec. 14 Electoral College vote.
It is still possible — though, election law experts said, unlikely — that the Supreme Court could decide to consider Kelly's appeal about the
constitutionality of Pennsylvania's mail voting law outside the context of
the 2020 election.
But the schedule laid out by Alito appeared to foreclose any chance of the
court weighing in before its outcome had been finalized.