US President Donald Trump participates in a Thanksgiving teleconference with members of the United States Military, at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 26, 2020. (AFP photo)

A federal appeals court in the US has dealt President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the November 3 presidential election another blow, saying that the Trump campaign’s allegations in the battleground state of Pennsylvania have no merit.

Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so, Stephanos Bibas wrote in a scathing opinion on Friday.

The three-judge panel for the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Trump campaign’s effort to Trump’s Democratic rival, Joe Biden, from being declared the winner of Pennsylvania.

Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here, wrote Bibas, who was nominated by Trump.

The case could still be appealed to the US Supreme Court.

The Campaign never alleges that any ballot was fraudulent or cast by an illegal voter, wrote Bibas. It never alleges that any defendant treated the Trump campaign or its votes worse than it treated the Biden campaign or its votes. Calling something discrimination does not make it so. The Second Amended Complaint still suffers from these core defects, so granting leave to amend would have been futile.

Trump has refused to concede defeat in the election and mounted multiple legal challenges to reverse the results in several key states. Biden was declared the projected winner.

Last week, US District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit which sought to overturn the results in the state, calling Trump’s legal claim a Frankenstein’s Monster.

Trump has refused to concede defeat in the election and mounted multiple legal challenges to reverse the results in several key states. Biden was declared the projected winner.

However, his campaign’s efforts have so far met with little success in the courtroom or on the ground.

The court decision paved the way for Pennsylvania to certify Biden’s victory there. On Monday, Pennsylvania certified Biden, who won the state’s popular vote, as its winner.

Biden won the state-by-state Electoral College votes, which decide who takes the White House, by 306 to 232, according to media reports.

The Electoral College is set to formally vote on December 14, with certifications to occur beforehand.

States’ certification of results of their popular votes is normally routine following a presidential election in the United States.

However, Trump’s refusal to concede has complicated the process and raised concerns that he could cause long-term damage to American voters’ trust in their voting system.

So far, a limited number of Republicans have recognized Biden as the winner.