County commissioners who violate a ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that undated and incorrectly dated ballots should not be counted might face criminal as well as civil liability, Republicans warned Monday.
Democrats on both the Montgomery and Bucks County commissions have voted to count those ballots. At least one, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia (D), has publicly acknowledged she understands the county is breaking the law by doing so.
“I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country. People violate laws anytime they want. So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention,” Ellis-Marseglia said.
Responding to questions from reporters about whether county officials could face jail, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said, “We certainly are exploring that option and we will pursue this to the fullest extent that we can.”
That echoes Trump campaign official Chris LaCivita who said on X, “They will go to jail. Count on it.”
Whatley’s remarks came during a press phone call Monday to discuss the Pennsylvania Senate race, where Republican Dave McCormick is running against Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.). While the AP and DecisionDeskHQ have called the race for McCormick, Casey refused to concede. Instead, he brought in partisan election lawyer Marc Elias to try to swing votes into his column.
The DV Journal asked whether GOP officials have asked the state Attorney General or county sheriffs to help enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Lawrence Tabas, chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Committee, said the Supreme Court has ruled on this issue five times, as has the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
State Supreme Court Justice Kevin Doughtery “said it best,” Tabas noted.
“‘We said what we meant and we meant what we said.’”
“I’m confident they will come out and clearly say to all of the counties in Pennsylvania, undated or misdated mail-in ballots shall not be counted.”
Whatley added it is important to “sequester” those votes so counties do not “inadvertently” count them “when the Supreme Court comes back and tells them again.”
Congressman Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) said the RNC had lawyers and volunteers throughout the country to secure the vote, but that there is no danger McCormick’s victory will be overturned if the ballots are counted properly.
“Things went well until this Casey campaign conduct,” said Meuser. As of Monday morning, McCormick was ahead by 17,000 votes. In the worst-case scenario, “this could be reduced to 14,000 votes.”
“The race was called for good reason,” Meuser said. He also called out prominent Democrats for their silence as state laws are being flagrantly violated.
It’s “disturbing that no one within their party, the Democrat Party, and the leadership right up to the Governor’s Office, is saying anything about this. There’s no comment from Gov. Shapiro. There’s no comment from the attorney general,” Meuser noted.
The RNC had filed lawsuits in several counties to stop those ballots from being counted as Democrats try to send Casey back to the Senate for a fourth term.
Attorney General Michelle Henry (D) pushed back.
“This matter is already being litigated by the parties and interested entities in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court,” said her spokesperson, Brett Hambright. “No state entity has been sued in that action, so our office does not have a client to represent. We will continue to monitor the situation and any developments that would prompt Office of Attorney General involvement.”
DVJournal asked for comments the Bucks and Montgomery County commissioners. They declined to respond.
Secretary of State Al Schmidt is on record telling counties to follow the law.
After the state Supreme Court ruled in McCormick’s favor nixing undated and misdated ballots late Monday afternoon, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said, “The Department of State had advised counties repeatedly of their duty to segregate challenged provisional ballots and undated ballots in anticipation of a ruling by the court. The court has now ruled on the counting of these ballots specific to the November 5, 2024 election and I expect all county election officials to adhere to this ruling and all the applicable laws governing our elections.”
A recount is taking place that will cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $1 million.
Casey could stop that recount by conceding, Tabas said.
However, that seems unlikely.
In an op-ed published Monday, Casey argued that legally-excluded ballots should be counted.
“Undated mail ballots have long been at issue in Pennsylvania’s elections. Gov. Wolf’s administration advocated to have these ballots count, as has Secretary of State Al Schmidt, and even my opponent himself. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has ruled twice in 2024 alone that throwing out these ballots violates Pennsylvania’s constitution.”
He did not mention that the state Supreme Court has twice stepped in to stop those ballots from being counted.
