US supreme court bars Republican bids to shorten vote-by-mail deadlines in two states

The US supreme court has rejected a last-minute plea from Pennsylvania Republicans to overturn a three-day extension of the absentee ballot deadline, a hugely consequential ruling in one of the most closely watched swing states in the presidential election. The state usually requires ballots to arrive by 8pm on election night in order to count. But last month, the Pennsylvania supreme court extended that deadline by three days for ballots…