Pennsylvania Democrats openly admit to counting illegal ballots in McCormick-Casey race

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As the contested Pennsylvania Senate race barrels towards a $1 million recount, Democratic officials in a few blue counties are openly admitting to counting disqualified ballots in defiance of state law and court orders.

The Associated Press has called the race for Republican Sen.-elect Dave McCormick, who currently holds a 26,000 vote lead over incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. But Casey has refused to concede and insisted that every vote be counted. The close margin -- within one percentage point -- triggered an automatic recount under Pennsylvania law.

Yet the critical question is which votes should be counted? The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled before the election that mail ballots lacking formally required signatures or dates should not be included in official results. However, Democratic officials in Philadelphia and surrounding Bucks, Centre and Montgomery counties are ignoring that court order.

"I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn't matter anymore in this country," Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, said Thursday as she and other Democrats voted to reject a GOP-led challenge to ballots that should be disqualified.

"People violate laws anytime they want. So, for me, if I violate this law, it's because I want a court to pay attention. There's nothing more important than counting votes."

Officials estimate there are fewer than 80,000 provisional ballots left to be counted across the Keystone State, less than two percent of the vote, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. While the chance that Casey could make up his deficit is small, his attorneys and McCormick's have repeatedly clashed at county commissioner meetings this week as local officials have debated over whether to count small handfuls of ballots.

Democrats insist they are acting in good faith in believing that rejecting someone's vote because of a clerical error violates their constitutional rights.

In Montgomery County, for example, officials deliberated for 30 minutes over whether about 180 provisional ballots without secrecy envelopes should be counted. The Inquirer reported that several of these votes came from the same precincts, suggesting an error made by poll workers.

Democratic board chair Neil Makhija voted to accept the ballots so that voters would not be disenfranchised. But other members of the board, including one Democrat and a Republican, voted to reject the ballots on the advice of county attorneys who determined the law clearly states they should not be counted.

"We're talking about constitutional rights and I cannot take an action to throw out someone's ballot that is validly cast, otherwise, over an issue that we know ... is immaterial," Makhija said during Thursday's meeting. The board ultimately voted to count a total of 501 contested ballots.

Similar disputes over hundreds of votes have played out in Bucks, Chester and Delaware Counties.

Separately, there is ongoing litigation over undated mail ballots or those submitted with an incorrect date on the outer envelope. Several local Democratic officials have said an incorrect date should not be grounds to disqualify a person's vote. Lower courts have agreed with that reasoning, but Pennsylvania's high court has determined the law requires correct dates for mail ballots to be counted.

The McCormick campaign and Republican National Committee have asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reaffirm its Nov. 1 decision to stop Democrats from including undated mail ballots in their final tallies. The Casey campaign and the Pennsylvania Department of State have countered with legal motions arguing that the counties should be left alone and that the high court need not intervene as the challenges work their way through the appellate process.

The open defiance of court precedent has prompted Republicans to cry foul.

"Let's be clear about what's happening here: Democrats in Pennsylvania are brazenly trying to break the law by attempting to count illegal ballots. They are doing this because they want to steal a senate seat," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley wrote on X.

He said the RNC has filed four lawsuits contesting county decisions on undated ballots and vowed to "fight for as long as necessary" to ensure that McCormick's victory is upheld.

"This is the exact kind of left-wing election interference that undermines voter confidence," Whatley said.

Democrats have defended their actions and pointed out that McCormick himself had argued to count contested ballots when he trailed celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz in the 2022 Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

In that case, McCormick's lawyer told a state judge that the object of Pennsylvania's election law is to let people vote, "not to play games of 'gotcha' with them."

There are potentially thousands of mail-in ballots with wrong or missing dates on the return envelope across the state, though most counties have not moved to count them.

A state-mandated recount must be finished by noon on Nov. 26. Officials have said they do not expect the process to change the outcome of the race by more than a few hundred votes.

Both McCormick and Casey were in Washington, D.C., this week. Casey participated in official Senate business and cast votes on the floor while McCormick attended new member orientation and met with other members of the new Republican majority to vote for conference leadership.