One of the things that the Trump campaign is hoping for in the upcoming 2020 election is that the Green Party nominee takes away voters from Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. But on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court blocked the Green Party presidential ticket from the ballot, thus clearing the way for state and local election officials to begin mailing out ballots to voters.
The Pennsylvania Justices ruled on Thursday that Howie Hawkins and his running mate, Angela Walker, did not qualify for the state’s ballot because they did not submit filing papers in person — which is required under Pennsylvania law.
Washington Post reporter Amy Gardner notes, “The decision is a blow to the third-party ticket and a win for Democrats, who worried that the Green Party could siphon votes from presidential nominee Joe Biden in the key battleground state. In Wisconsin, the Green Party effort to get on the ballot was boosted by help from some Republicans and a prominent law firm that does work for the GOP. In Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court voted on a strict party line, with the Court’s two Republicans partially dissenting, writing in a separate opinion that the Green Party ticket should have been given a chance to fix its paperwork.”
Pennsylvania is a key state if either Trump or Biden want to win the election in November.
Most polls released recently have shown that Biden is ahead in Pennsylvania. According to recent polls, Trump is trailing Biden in Pennsylvania by 4% (CNBC/Change Research), 2% (Susquehanna) or 3% (Monmouth). However, an NBC News/Marist poll released this month found Biden with a more comfortable lead of 9%.
Trump won the state in 2016 by less than 1%.
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