Shy Supreme Court

For John, BLUF:  It looks like the US Supreme Court is avoiding engaging on issues of how State Supreme Courts have messed with State election laws.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Justice Clarence Thomas Dissents From Supreme Court on Election Case: ‘We Need to Make It Clear’

From The Epoch Times, by Reporter Jack Phillips, 22 February 2021.

Here is the lede plus four:

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a dissenting opinion regarding the high court’s decision not to take up a case challenging the Pennsylvania Nov. 3 election results.

The court on Monday announced it won’t take up lawsuits challenging a Pennsylvania state court decision that relaxed ballot-integrity measures, including a move to extend the ballot-receipt deadline during the November election by three days due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.  Former President Donald Trump and Pennsylvania’s GOP urged the court to take up a review of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling.

“This is not a prescription for confidence,” Thomas wrote on Monday, adding that “changing the rules in the middle of the game is bad enough.”  Thomas, considered by many to be the most conservative justice, said the court should have granted a review.

“That decision to rewrite the rules seems to have affected too few ballots to change the outcome of any federal election.  But that may not be the case in the future,” Thomas wrote (pdf).  “These cases provide us with an ideal opportunity to address just what authority nonlegislative officials have to set election rules, and to do so well before the next election cycle.  The refusal to do so is inexplicable.”

Other than Thomas, Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch also dissented.

I am with Justice Thomas on this.

It seems somewhat irregular for state courts to be usurping the responsibilities assigned to state legislatures, even if there is a COVID-19 Pandemic ongoing.

Regards  —  Cliff