SCOTUS denies emergency request from Trump allies in Pennsylvania
In a single, succinct order, the U.S. Supreme Court has shut down an 11th-hour attempt by allies of Trump in Pennsylvania to block its slate of certified electors and toss out 2.5 million mail-in ballots.
"The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied," the court said.
The appeal -- brought by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican, along with another GOP candidate for Congress -- alleged that the state legislature did not legally pass the law allowing for expanded mail-in voting during the pandemic. They sought the justices to order all mail-in ballots thrown out along with the state's official certification of election results, which was signed by Gov. Tom Wolf last week.
The Supreme Court's denial comes on the same day the state of Texas filed suit against four battleground states alleging that they "exploited the COVID-19 pandemic" to improperly loosen election rules and skew the contest's outcome. Justices have not yet said whether they will hear the case.
The actions come on the Dec. 8 "safe harbor" deadline by which states must lock in the slate of electors they intend to send to Congress to affirm the election results -- selections that are intended to match the will of the voters.
-ABC News' Devin Dwyer, Alex Hosenball, Olivia Rubin and Matthew Mosk