DV Journal

Although the AP called the U.S. Senate race for Republican Dave McCormick last week, three-term incumbent Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D) still refuses to concede.

Instead, he’s got controversial Democratic attorney Marc Elias in Pennsylvania trying to swing the race back his way. That effort is getting support from some Delaware Valley Democrats.

The Montgomery County Democratic Party sent an email Sunday urging local party members to participate in the ballot curing effort.

“There is more to do — we have more doors to hit in MontCo, DelCo… and can support in Berks and Philly, too. Given that literally every vote is needed, the PA Coordinated Campaign is launching a ballot cure canvass out of the Wayne office,” they wrote.

Temple University political science Professor Robin Kolodny said ‘‘curing’ means fixing a mail ballot that has minor mistakes such as signature issues. Some of the typical problems are having an incomplete date, signatures that don’t match the one on file, and depending on the county, whether it’s “naked” or not in the inside envelope provided, she said.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and the Casey campaign have also been sending fundraising emails supporting the ballot hunt.

Meanwhile, McCormick is in Washington, D.C. for Senate orientation week — despite not getting an invitation from outgoing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) Many Republicans are outraged by the snub, and they urged McCormick to attend, anyway. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has offered to escort McCormick into the Senate orientation.

However, on Tuesday morning Schumer’s assistant said Schumer has reversed course and was invited to attend the orientation after all.

“Dave McCormick is going to come to the orientation,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said in a Fox Business interview Monday. “I would say, ‘Look, Leader Schumer, it’s not like Dave McCormick is being sworn in this week. He is attending an orientation. So, allow him to participate. Be gracious, you lost, please get over it.’”

McCormick’s spokesperson, Nate Sizemore, told DVJournal that McCormick will be there, a message confirmed by the senator-elect on social media: “Looking forward to joining the Senate freshman class of 2025 for orientation this week! I’m honored to represent the people of Pennsylvania, and will fight hard to make sure their voices are heard in Washington. Let’s get to work!”

In Pennsylvania, the GOP has its own lawyers keeping an eye on the vote count.

“The Republican National Committee (RNC) has lawyers across the Commonwealth participating in the canvassing of the ballots, making sure every legally cast and valid vote is counted. As we have done throughout this election, we are protecting the vote.  Hopefully, Sen. Casey will concede graciously and not prolong this election,” said Linda Kerns, an RNC election lawyer.

McCormick campaign Manager Matt Gruda reposted Philadelphia election Commissioner Seth Bluestein, “In my experience, provisional ballot results don’t differ significantly from the overall voting trends in a particular race. If there are 100,000 ballots to count in a close contest, the overall vote differential is unlikely to change by more than a few thousand.”

McCormick was 40,040 votes ahead or o.58 percent, as of this writing.

And McCormick campaign advisor Mark D. Harris posted a statement reiterating that the race is over.

“Democratic counties are likely to report first in the provisionals and Senator-elect McCormick’s large 40,000 margin will shrink a bit, likely ending up in a recount that won’t change a thing. We knew this would happen and it will exhaust the remaining good ballots for Casey.

“A recount would be a waste of time and taxpayer money, but it’s Senator Casey’s prerogative. Our lead of tens of thousands will be too big for any recount to make a difference,” Harris added.

As the midterm election approaches, the Republican National Committee joined other organizations to sue Pennsylvania for what it calls “unfair” voting practices. The suit argues that because various counties handle ballots with mistakes differently, that results in unequal outcomes for voters.

Some counties will fix or “cure” mistakes and count those ballots, while other counties do not.

“A Pennsylvania voter’s ballot should be treated uniformly, no matter where they reside in the commonwealth,” said Philadelphia lawyer Linda A. Kearns. “This lawsuit seeks to correct a glaring disparity – some counties follow the Pennsylvania election code and do not provide voters a second bite at the apple but some counties improperly look at ballots before election day and contact voters and allow them to correct mistakes. This type of uneven treatment of voters can tip the scales unfairly, especially if it only happens in counties where the majority of voters are Democrats.”

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel released a statement supporting the effort.

“The RNC is joining with the NRSC, NRCC, Pennsylvania GOP, and concerned Pennsylvania voters to sue the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for unequal treatment of its citizens at the ballot box,” McDaniel said. “Pennsylvania Democrats, led by Gov. Tom Wolf, are unconstitutionally flouting the law by failing to adopt uniform rules for how elections in the Keystone State are run.

“This lawsuit will ensure that Pennsylvania voters have confidence in their elections and underscores the Republican Party’s commitment to making it easier to vote and harder to cheat in Pennsylvania and nationwide,” she said.

According to the lawsuit, “The court should restore transparency, fundamental fairness, and integrity to Pennsylvania’s elections by upholding the plain text of the election code and the clear holding of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and declaring that county boards of elections may not adopt cure procedures other than as the General Assembly has expressly provided in the election code.”

Also, “Despite the election code’s plain text and the Supreme Court’s clear holding, and the veto by the governor of the bill enacted by the legislature to implement a cure procedure, several boards, without legal authority, have developed and implemented cure procedures for the 2022 general election and beyond. These boards’ development and implementation of cure procedures exceed the boards’ authority under state law and the election code. These boards have, in effect, usurped the exclusive legislative authority of the General Assembly in contravention of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s holding,” it stated.

The Republicans contend “it is the Pennsylvania legislature’s responsibility to uniformly enact these procedures and for them to apply across the state. The U.S. Constitution is clear that state legislatures should set the rules for how elections are run.”

“Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed and opposed Pennsylvania Republican-led legislation to remedy this issue. Now, a coalition of Republican groups and concerned citizens are stepping in to protect and standardize Pennsylvania elections,” the suit said.

The lawsuit asks the court to issue a permanent injunction to require the boards of election to follow the letter of the law and not to “cure” ballots where voters have made mistakes and then count those ballots

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