Republicans ask Supreme Court to block counting of some provisional ballots in Pennsylvania

Republicans on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt Pennsylvania’s attempt to count provisional ballots, in a filing that could impact thousands of votes in the critical swing state.

The Republican National Committee intervened in a lawsuit brought against Butler County, Pennsylvania, by voters who did not have provisional ballots counted for lack of a proper envelope.

The RNC, which is the applicant at the high court for a stay of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision, said the state’s highest court ignored state law in its ruling, greenlighting the counting of provisional ballots. The state court ruled a provisional ballot must be counted if the individual had cast his or her mail-in ballot on time.

A provisional ballot is cast if there is a technical issue with a mail-in ballot, such as a lack of signature or date or envelope error.

The filing argues that the decision creates a curing problem for the mail-in ballots.