Republicans went to court Thursday in Pennsylvania amid vote counting in the U.S. Senate election between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick.
Marc Elias is involved and is a friend of Bob Casey’s.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court banned them from counting undated mail-in ballots. They are doing it anyway.
The lawsuits ask courts not to allow counties to count mail-in ballots where the voter didn’t write a date on the return envelope or wrote an incorrect date. The two GOP suits could be among many before the last vote in the Senate race is counted, especially with the contest headed toward a state-mandated recount.
-
The Importance of Prayer: How a Christian Gold Company Stands Out by Defending Americans’ Retirement
Morning Call
The Associated Press called the race for McCormick last week, concluding that not enough ballots remained to be counted in areas Casey was winning for him to take the lead.
As of Thursday, McCormick led by about 26,000 votes out of more than 6.9 million ballots counted — inside the 0.5% margin threshold to trigger an automatic statewide recount under Pennsylvania law.
The national and state Republican parties asked the state Supreme Court to bar counties from counting the ballots, saying those decisions violate both the court’s recent orders and its precedent in upholding the requirement in state law.
In a statement, Pennsylvania Republican Party Chair Lawrence Tabas said, “What’s taking place in these counties is absolute lawlessness.”
The lawsuit said Democratic-majority election boards in Bucks County, Centre County, and Philadelphia voted to count the ballots. Democrats cast more mail-in ballots than Republicans, and Democrats have supported counting ballots that trip over what they view as meaningless clerical requirements in state law.
“We’re going to get sued either way; I’d rather be on the side of counting ballots than not counting them,” Bucks County Commissioner Robert Harvie, a Democrat, said before Tuesday’s vote to count the ballots.
Lower courts have repeatedly deemed it unconstitutional or illegal to throw out such ballots. But higher courts — including the state Supreme Court most recently on Nov. 1 — have blocked those decisions.
Watch them agree to break the law:
#BucksCounty Democrat Commissioners violate the rule of law and ignore PA Supreme Court ruling!
Democrat Commissioners Diane Marseglia and Bob Harvie voted today to count illegal ballots, against PA Supreme Court ruling, in an attempt to aid former Senator Bob Casey.… pic.twitter.com/qAdFlVchmh
— Bucks GOP (@BucksGOP) November 14, 2024
Subscribe to the Daily Newsletter