The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday ordered all of the state's county election officials to stop counting mail-in ballots that fail to comply with state law.
The order comes after Bucks County Board of Commissioners Chair Robert J. Harvie Jr. (D) and Vice Chair Dianne Ellis-Marseglia (D) defied the top Court's previous ruling that ballots missing signatures in one of two places, or which are missing a date, cannot be counted.
State law requires a handwritten date on the outer return envelope of mail-in ballots.
The ruling and order to stop counting comes as an automatic recount is underway in the race between Republican Senator-elect Dave McCormick and incumbent Senator Bob Casey. The recount - which comes at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1 million, was triggered by a state law that calls for an automatic recount if a candidate's margin of victory is no more than 0.5% of total votes cast.
"The Court hereby ASSUMES its King’s Bench authority … only to DIRECT that all Respondents, including the Boards of Elections in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County, SHALL COMPLY with the prior rulings of this Court in which we have clarified that mail-in and absentee ballots that fail to comply with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Election Code …. SHALL NOT BE COUNTED for purposes of the election held on November 5, 2024," reads Monday's ruling.
Earlier this month, Bucks County, PA. commissioners voted to count ballots lacking proper signatures in violation of the state Supreme Court ruling issued earlier this year, and against the advice of the board's legal counsel - which advised not to count illegal ballots.
Now to see if they comply...
