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Beth Brelje

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that all counties must comply with court precedent and state election code by only counting ballots that meet state requirements. The decision comes the week after officials in multiple counties blatantly defied the law by voting to count improperly dated ballots to swing the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race for Democrat incumbent Bob Casey.

While a recount is underway for the Pennsylvania Senate race between losing incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, and the winner — by a thin margin — Republican Dave McCormick, some county boards of election said they intended to count mail-in ballots that were improperly cast with no date or an incorrect date written on the exterior envelope. Both are required by law, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered ahead of the election that ballots not meeting these requirements should not be counted.

Boards of elections in Bucks, Montgomery, Centre, and Philadelphia counties said in public meetings that they had decided to count such ballots in defiance of the law and the state supreme court. Democrat operatives attending these meetings also urged boards to count ballots that were deemed cast by unregistered voters. In Bucks and Montgomery Counties, the boards agreed to reconsider previously rejected provisional ballots.

“Precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws anytime they want,” Bucks County Democrat Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said before voting to count illegal ballots. Out loud. In a public meeting.

Other counties made the same law-defying decision.

In Monroe County, the commissioners originally voted to count undated and misdated ballots, but without going to court, they reversed that decision Monday, Director of Elections and Voter Registrations in Monroe County Sara May-Silfee told The Federalist in an email.

The Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania lawyered up and got the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to say what it has already said to counties: follow the state law.  

In its decision, the court ordered that all counties, “[i]ncluding 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″ (emphasis original).

“The Election Code commands absentee and mail-in electors to date the declaration that appears upon ballot return envelopes, and failure to comply with that command renders a ballot invalid as a matter of Pennsylvania law,” Monday’s decision further explains.

Despite the state supreme court ruling before the election, in a statement sent by the governor’s office to the Federalist following the ruling, Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro said that local officials had lacked clarity in this situation and would likely face legal action no matter which decision they made.

The McCormick campaign released a statement after the decision.

“Today’s ruling is a massive setback to Senator Casey’s attempt to count illegal ballots. Bucks County and others blatantly violated the law in an effort to help Senator Casey. Senator-elect McCormick is very pleased with this ruling and looks forward to taking the Oath of Office in a few short weeks,” said Elizabeth Gregory, McCormick communications director in an email.

RNC Chair Michael Whatley also released a statement following the decision, warning county officials that they have “no more excuses.”

“Election officials in Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and other counties have absolutely no choice but to reject illegal ballots. We will hold them to it,” he wrote.

Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.