The eyes of the nation were on Bucks County Commissioners last week as they considered whether to count flawed ballots in the hotly-contested U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick.

McCormick has been declared the victor by both the Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ, but Casey continues to insist the race isn’t over. Casey and his notoriously partisan attorney Marc Elias are pinning their hopes on outstanding ballots, many of them flawed and — based on previous court rulings — ineligible to be included in the final tally.

But that didn’t stop Bucks County Commissioners Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia. Not only did she and her fellow Democrat Bob Harvie vote to count the flawed ballots, she publicly acknowledged their decision was contrary to the law.

“I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country,” she said after the fact. “People violate laws any time they want. So for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it.”

A video of her admission made a hit on social media, garnering millions of views. Republicans claimed it confirmed their belief that Democrats are willing to manipulate the law to win elections. The fact that Ellis-Marseglia donated $600 to Casey’s campaign in September, and Casey had backed two Bucks County Democrats in previous elections, didn’t help.

Bucks County isn’t alone. Philadelphia, Centre, and Montgomery County Democrats are also defying both the state Supreme Court and Pennsylvania law by including mail ballots that have no date, or have the wrong date, in their county’s final count.

The goal appears to be to help Casey close the gap with McCormick, who had a 17,000 vote lead as of late Sunday.

The public rejection of state law was so egregious that Secretary of State Al Schmidt felt the need to remind county commissioners to do their duty.

“@PAStateDept has reminded our county partners that ‘it is important to remember the history of litigation regarding undated and incorrectly dated [ballots]’ and to consult their solicitor ‘to ensure any decision rendered…is consistent with current law,’” Schmidt posted to X.

Pennsylvania state GOP chair Lawrence Tobias was more direct: “What’s taking place in these counties is absolute lawlessness.”

Not surprisingly, the Republican National Committee, the state GOP and the McCormick campaign are suing Bucks County. Legal experts agree that these ballots will be thrown out by the courts.

“Attorneys from the Bucks County Republican Committee (BCRC), Republican National Committee (RNC), PA GOP. and McCormick Team continue to fight to stop the Democrats from counting illegally cast ballots,” the Bucks County GOP said in a statement Sunday. “They filed a Petition to Review the 2-1 decision by the Democrat-led Board of Elections to count undated and misdated mail ballots in Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

“Additionally, they filed challenges to the 2-1 decision by the Democrat-led Board of Elections to count undated and misdated provisional ballots. These decisions by the Board of Elections were against the advice of their own Solicitors and violative of the decisions by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and U.S. Third Circuit law.

“These decisions were an act of partisanship and defiance. We look forward to seeing these folks in Court for an explanation for this blatant attempt to count illegally cast ballots.”

Attorneys from the Bucks County Republican Committee (BCRC), Republican National Committee (RNC), PA GOP and McCormick Team continue to fight to stop the Democrats from counting illegally cast ballots. They filed a Petition to Review the 2-1 decision by the Democrat-led Board of Elections to count undated and misdated mail ballots in Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

Additionally, they filed challenges to the 2-1 decision by the Democrat-led Board of Elections to count undated and misdated provisional ballots. These decisions by the Board of Elections were against the advice of their own Solicitors and violative of the decisions by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and U.S. Third Circuit law.

“These decisions were an act of partisanship and defiance. We look forward to seeing these folks in Court for an explanation for this blatant attempt to count illegally cast ballots.

Bucks County’s elected legislators also released a statement decrying how Democrats have handled the voting process overall. They pointed out that, during the early-voting period, Bucks County closed the three voting centers before people standing in line were able to cast their ballots.

“Over the last 3 weeks, both Bucks County as well as the Bucks County Commissioners have been thrown into national headlines regarding this year’s election:

“While all this has been ongoing, it has been unfortunate to see how quickly accusations have been lobbed against the legislature and not those actually in charge of conducting our elections. While we are disappointed in the actions of a few, we will continue to work to ensure the public’s faith in the election system,” the legislators wrote.

The statement was signed by state Sens. Frank Farry and Jarrett Coleman; and state Reps. Joe Hogan, Shelby Labs, Kristin Marcell, Craig Staats, and KC Tomlinson.

House Republican Leader Bryon Cutler (R-Lancaster) also weighed in, calling on Casey to concede and saying the recount is “costly” and “unnecessary.”

“Democrat-controlled counties are now openly defying the courts and the plain language of the election law to try and overturn a legal election result,” he noted.

Ellis-Marseglia did not respond to a request for comment.