DV Journal

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.

Republican National Committee co-chairs Lara Trump and Michael Whatley came to the Delaware Valley this week with a message for the GOP faithful: We’re leaving nothing to chance on Election Day.

“I want to make sure that every person in this country, when they cast a ballot for whoever it is, whether you are voting for a Republican, Democrat, a third-party candidate on election day or mail-in vote, or early voting, knowing that your vote should count,” Trump told a gathering of 120 election volunteers who packed into Trump campaign headquarters in Newtown Tuesday.

“And that’s why we’re here. We from the RNC have put in place an incredible election integrity program.”

Trump is married to former President Donald Trump’s son Eric.

The volunteers received training on how to ensure the 2024 general election is fair, accurate, secure, and transparent.

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was also part of the RNC-sponsored event. She told local Republicans she still has “a little PTSD” from the 2020 election “when we had a court order to observe the ballot-counting and we were kicked out.”

“This time is going to be different and this is a priority for President Trump,” said Bondi.

“I know this will shock you, but 89 percent of Americans only want Americans to vote in our elections,” she said. “It’s the election of our lifetime and Pennsylvania is so important for our country.”

Trump echoed that sentiment. “We want to have an army of people across this country, 100,0000 people strong, working around the country to ensure integrity in our elections,” she said. “Make a plan and get out and vote.”

Whatley, who along with Lara Trump took the reins at the RNC earlier this year, told DVJournal it was time for Republicans to be proactive about ballot security.

“We’re keeping an eye on everything. That’s really why it’s so important for us to make sure first and foremost we have the rules of the road set up the right way before the votes are being cast and then we’ve got to be in the room wherever votes are being counted.”

“We want transparency throughout the entire process,” Whatley said.

In Newtown, Whatley told about having breakfast with Donald Trump and telling him the RNC was ineffective because it was trying to do too much.

“What we need to do is strip down and focus on two core missions. Number one, we’ve got to get out the vote,” Whatley told Donald Trump. “That’s what the RNC does. That’s been our core mission for the last 40 or 50 years and we are really good at working with our state parties.”

“But second — and for the first time in a presidential campaign — we have to protect the vote.”

“We created an office of election integrity,” Whatley said. It’s the first time we had a dedicated office that is focused solely on making sure we are there to protect the vote.”

Asked why former President Trump has not championed voting by mail, Lara Trump said he has messaged it on Truth Social.

“We want legal votes to count and however you can vote best, that’s exactly how you should vote,” she said.

Philadelphia election lawyer Linda Kerns, who is retained election integrity counsel for the RNC in Pennsylvania, attended the training.

“The Pennsylvania Election Code allows for qualified voters from both major political parties to be watchers in each and every polling place in this great commonwealth. The RNC’s goal with our Protect The Vote program is to ensure transparency. Fair and lawful elections ensure voter confidence and strengthen our great nation,” said Kerns.

Green Lane resident Barbara Steever signed up to be a poll watcher.

“People say Trump brainwashed us,” said Steever. “No. We just happen to believe what he believes. If Biden gets another term, this country is dead.”

Ed Moye, who is running for state representative in the 70th District in central Montgomery County, said he’s a Trump supporter because of his policies.

“It’s obvious the nation was in better shape (before Biden took over),” said Moye, who previously ran for sheriff.

Lara Trump said her father-in-law “believes the momentum is behind him” and the polls “clearly show that.”

“We believe if every legal vote is counted on Nov. 5, Donald Trump will become President-elect of the United States,” she said.

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