Pennsylvania election recount: Commissioners ignore court ban, decide to count flawed ballots

In a controversial decision, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, commissioners voted in favor of counting date-issued ballots in the vote recount for the Senate, flouting a clear state Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the practice.

The vote, which ended 2-1, has generated an immediate response from Republicans, who announced lawsuits to block the counting of these votes.

Challenge to the law: "precedent by a court doesn’t matter"

Diane Marseglia, one of the commissioners who supported this measure, justified her vote by saying that "precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws anytime they want," she stated and openly admitted to being willing to break the law to get the attention of the courts.

The board's chairman, Robert Harvie Jr., backed Marseglia's stance, arguing that the errors in the signatures were caused by poll worker negligence. However, his decision contradicts the recommendations of the county's legal team, which had advised rejecting these ballots because of clear and binding guidance issued by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Tight results and ongoing recount

The context of this controversial vote is a tight state Senate race between Republican David McCormick and Democrat Bob Casey. McCormick received 48.93% of the vote, while Casey received 48.50%, leading to an automatic recount. However, approximately 80,000 votes still need to be counted, including thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots, creating uncertainty about the final outcome.

With the decision to count potentially invalid ballots, Bucks County commissioners have created a scenario in which the recount's transparency could be compromised, fueling doubts about the legitimacy of the election process.

Philadelphia also counts disputed ballots

The controversy does not end in Bucks County. Philadelphia commissioners followed a similar path by voting to count mail-in ballots with incorrect or undated dates despite an explicit state Supreme Court prohibition. The decision has sparked outrage in the Republican Party, which has elevated the case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, arguing that the counties are openly defying a recent ruling.

"The court just ruled on this two weeks ago," an official with the Republican National Committee(RNC) stated. They noted that the decisions made by these election boards are "ridiculous" and appear to be designed to benefit Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in a desperate attempt to save his seat.

McCormick is already gearing up for the Senate

Despite the ongoing dispute, apparent Senator-elect David McCormick is already in Washington, D.C., to attend Senate orientation sessions. With a 52-47 Republican majority in the upper chamber, his seat is considered critical to maintaining control of the Senate. However, Bob Casey's refusal to acknowledge his apparent defeat and the maneuvering of election boards to count votes that do not meet legal requirements call into question the integrity of the process.