Headline Roundup • November 19th, 2024
PA Supreme Court Rules Incorrectly Dated Ballots Should Be Discarded
Elections,2024 Presidential Election,2024 Elections,Pennsylvania,US Senate,Voting Rights And Voter Fraud,Philadelphia
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday that election officials should adhere to an earlier decision and not count mail-in ballots that were invalidated because of incorrect dates on the outer envelope.
The Details: Democrat-majority election boards in Philadelphia, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties defied the Court’s previously issued guidance and chose to count the votes, arguing the error is a technicality unrelated to legitimacy. Per The New York Times (Lean Left bias), the ruling will affect approximately 400 ballots in Bucks, 600 in Philadelphia, and an unspecified number in Montgomery.
For Context: The ruling primarily impacts the senate race between Democrat Bob Casey Jr. and Republican Dave McCormick, which, despite The Associated Press (Lean Left bias) calling for McCormick, is headed to a recount. Casey has yet to concede, and the current margin between the two stands at around 17,000 votes.
Key Quotes: Democratic Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia offered insight into why they counted the ballots last week, saying, “I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country and people violate laws anytime they want. So for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want the court to pay attention to it.” Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro said, “Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process.”
How the Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum framed the decision as a win for McCormick.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Matt Slocum/AP
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that election officials must abide by an earlier decision and stop counting mail-in ballots that were invalidated because of an incorrect date on the outer envelope — a major victory for Republican Senate candidate David McCormick, who holds a narrow lead over Democratic Sen. Bob Casey ahead of a statewide recount.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has urged county election boards to respect a decision by the state Supreme Court preventing them from counting ballots that are either undated or incorrectly dated in the state's Senate race.
Speaking on Monday following the ruling, Shapiro said: "Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process. The rule of law matters in Pennsylvania."
The Pennsylvania Senate race pitted Democratic incumbent Senator Bob Casey against Republican challenger David McCormick. The GOP candidate leads by around 17,000 votes and the Associated Press has called the...
Mark Makela/Getty Images
The Republican Party blasted Democrats on Monday for their refusal to concede the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania, taking aim at three-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey for moving ahead with a costly recount effort, one they argue is a "blatant" violation of state law.
The recount in the state comes after The Associated Press declared the race for Republican candidate David McCormick, who narrowly edged out Casey, a Democrat.
McCormick's unofficial margin of victory stands at roughly 26,000 votes, or within the 0.5% threshold required under Pennsylvania law to trigger an...
