A Pennsylvania judge orders the cessation of further verification of votes

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania – A Pennsylvania appellate court judge on Wednesday ordered state officials to stop further steps to verify election results, a day after Governor Tom Wolf said Democrat Joe Biden was certified as the winner of the Pennsylvania presidential election.

It was not immediately clear whether the order of the Commonwealth Court Judge, Republican Patricia McCullough, could pass the state and local competition certification on the ballot paper or interrupt the scheduled December 14 meeting of the state’s 20 voters. McCullough scheduled the hearing for Friday.

U.S. Republican Mike Kelly and others filed a lawsuit on Saturday, questioning some 2.5 million postal ballot papers handed down predominantly by Democrats. They said state legislation controlled by the GOP did not follow the proper procedure when it voted last year to expand voting by mail. The state Supreme Court overturned the Commonwealth Court rulings on Republican election challenges twice this month. State election officials did not send an immediate message as to whether they would appeal.

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