Update In Pennsylvania
Last night, the U.S. Supreme Court finally weighed in on a dispute that’s been at their doorstep for quite some time, and declined a request from Pennsylvania Republicans to halt a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that allowed some mail-in ballots to be counted up to three days after Election Day. The outcome was the result of a 4-4 deadlock on the court with Chief Justice Roberts siding with the three liberal justices, since Justices Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh all noted in the order that they would have granted the stay.
On an immediate level, this means that the extended deadline stands, and more delays in reporting election results in Pennsylvania are likely. But the divided nature of the order also emphasizes just how important the impending confirmation of Judge Barrett could be for future voting rights rulings. It’s very unusual for the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a state Supreme Court when interpreting its own state constitution (which was the issue in the Pennsylvania case), and the justices in this case didn’t offer any reasoning for their votes. But if Barrett is confirmed, she could be the decisive vote in future disputes along these lines.