Washington DC - The Supreme Court dealt Republicans a blow in a case challenging the rules for postal voting in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, just days ahead of the election.

The justices rejected a request not to count provisional ballots used in the state when a voter's mail-in ballot is flagged as potentially defective. These provisional ballots are kept separately and counted only after verification.

The Republicans had asked for these votes not be counted. This could have potentially invalidated thousands of absentee ballots, which often tend to favor Democratic voters.

The court's decision allows these votes to be counted for the time being, but the justices could still revisit the issue later. More legal disputes are possible in the coming days.

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There are expectations that fights over the validity of votes will continue after the November 5 election, especially in states where the margin between the winner and loser could be only thousands of votes.

Donald Trump has already raised completely baseless allegations of vote manipulation after his election defeat in 2020 and is now casting doubt on the integrity of the upcoming election. His Republican Party has unleashed a flood of lawsuits alleging irregularities and fraud, mostly in crucial swing states.

Kamala Harris and the Democratic National Committee celebrated the decision, saying: "In Pennsylvania and across the country, Trump and his allies are trying to make it harder for your vote to count, but our institutions are stronger than his shameful attacks. Today’s decision confirms that, for every eligible voter, the right to vote means the right to have your vote counted,"