The president's lawyer Rudy Giuliani (center) has led legal efforts to cast doubt on election results, but few have succeeded. Photo: BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty
Philadelphia did not violate the law by restricting poll observers' proximity to ballots, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in a blow to the Trump campaign Tuesday.
Why it matters: This development comes after President Trump's defeat in a string of court battles, which his campaign wielded in several states in attempts to discredit President-elect Biden's election victory.
Driving the news: In one of Trump's last standing legal challenges to election results, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found nothing wrong in Philadelphia's adherence to caution in the middle of a pandemic.
- The city's protocols were constructed in "careful consideration of how it could best protect the security and privacy of voters' ballots, as well as safeguard its employees and others who would be present during a pandemic for the pre-canvassing and canvassing process," the Supreme Court wrote in its decision.
- The court also noted that observers are only directed to observe — and not audit — ballots, throwing out the Trump campaign's arguments that there was no "meaningful observation" of ballot counts.
- A lower court previously ruled against Trump, and the Supreme Court reinstated this decision.
The bottom line: Though Trump still has not publicly conceded the election, his path to overturning election results is looking more and more narrow.