On April 1st, 2025, Carmen Russell-Sluchansky published an article titled: Trump’s 3rd Circuit: President has power to remake Philly region’s highest federal court in WHYY.
“Pennsylvania was one of the most litigious states in the entire country as it related to the 2020 election results and election administration,” said Kadida Kenner, CEO of the New Pennsylvania Project and co-chair of Why Courts Matter – Pennsylvania. “And it was our circuit courts, and our federal district courts in Pennsylvania that were making judgments about our provisional ballots, whether they should count or not and the legitimacy of our elections.”
For example, after the 2020 election, the Trump campaign filed a federal lawsuit against election officials in Pennsylvania to have millions of votes thrown out in one of many efforts to overturn election results around the country. The Trump campaign appealed a federal district court decision up to the 3rd Circuit, which ruled the campaign’s claims had “no merit.”
“That was very impactful for the 2020 election, particularly as the world waited on the results coming out of Pennsylvania,” Kenner said. “All attention will be back onto Pennsylvania here in 2025 and 2026 and beyond about how our elections are being carried out and how the courts are making determinations about that.”