Nov. 04, 2020
HARRISBURG - Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon), recently appointed by House Speaker Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) to the Pennsylvania Election Law Advisory Board, is committed to working to review every aspect of the 2020 General Election to ensure the Commonwealth has a more certain process in the future in which voters can have confidence.
“It’s clear Pennsylvania does not have results on Election Day because of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and its partisan allies-- Gov. Tom Wolf and Attorney General Josh Shapiro,” said Diamond. “Pennsylvanians can be assured that we will be challenging the Wolf administration’s agenda that will have long-term impacts if not addressed immediately. The fact of the matter is that accepting ballots after Election Day is not fair to the voters who prepared and voted as every Pennsylvanian has voted since the founding of our Commonwealth.”
The post-Election Day ballots are likely to be the subject of continued litigation and taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court. While the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a stay in appeals tied to this case and these ballots, Justice Samuel Alito said that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s mandate here likely “violates the Federal Constitution” and its requirement that the state legislature—not the courts-- determine the time, place and manner of elections.
As a result, it is likely to be litigated by state political parties and the national political campaigns, and the U.S. Supreme Court will likely take a second look at Pennsylvania.
“The United States of America has for centuries been unique in comparison to third-world countries and Europe for having election results the morning after Election Day,” said Diamond. “The Wolf administration is radically trying to change our system of governance that would result in an unconstitutional, tyrannical system--effectively silencing the voices of millions of
Pennsylvanians. It’s a disgrace and we will not stand for it. We will be reviewing every aspect of this election to ensure every legal vote cast is counted in Pennsylvania’s elections.”
Diamond expects to continue serving on the House State Government Committee and pledges to review and offer updates to the election code, if necessary, in conjunction with suggestions from election officials across the state. Diamond’s district office is logging voter issues as they receive complaints to help inform this review.
Representative Russ Diamond
102nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives