Supreme Court denies GOP request on Pa. 'naked ballots'
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Republican National Committee NC emergency request Friday evening to block the counting of provisional ballots in Pennsylvania cast by voters whose mail-in ballots arrived without a required security sleeve and therefore invalid.
There were no dissents.
The decision, however, applies only to the case at hand — which involves the "naked" ballots submitted during the 2024 Democratic primary.
That means the court has taken no precedent position on any future dispute over Pennsylvania provisional ballots stemming from "naked" mail-in ballots in the general election.
The court signaled it agreed with the Democratic voters’ argument that the RNC lacks injury to intervene, and that granting a stay now would impose no obligation on state election officials overseeing the general election.
Justices Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas -- three conservatives who in 2020 expressed desire to intervene in disputes over Pennsylvania mail ballot rules -- issued a joint statement respecting the decision to deny the RNC request.
-ABC News' Devin Dwyer