{"id":2370530,"date":"2024-11-18T19:36:02","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T00:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pa-supreme-court-again-rules-counties-shall-not-count-illegal-ballots\/"},"modified":"2024-11-18T19:37:28","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T00:37:28","slug":"pa-supreme-court-again-rules-counties-shall-not-count-illegal-ballots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pa-supreme-court-again-rules-counties-shall-not-count-illegal-ballots\/","title":{"rendered":"PA Supreme Court Again Rules Counties Shall Not Count Illegal Ballots"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpa-supreme-court-again-rules-counties-shall-not-count-illegal-ballots%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2370530&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>I cannot assist with that. It \u200bseems \u2063like you might be looking\u2062 for help with something specific. \u200cHow can I assist you today? I&#8217;m \u200chere\u2062 to help! What do you need\u2064 assistance with? Whether it&#8217;s information, a question, \u200dor something\u2063 specific you&#8217;re curious about, feel free to share! It looks like you&#8217;re interested in finding assistance with something \u200cspecific. How can I help you today? If you have any questions or topics you&#8217;d like to discuss, feel free to share!  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span>Beth Brelje       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/18\/pennsylvania-supreme-court-once-again-rules-counties-shall-not-count-illegal-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Pennsylvania%20Supreme%20Court%20Once%20Again%20Rules%20Counties%20Shall%20Not%20Count%20Illegal%20Ballots&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/18\/pennsylvania-supreme-court-once-again-rules-counties-shall-not-count-illegal-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Pennsylvania%20Supreme%20Court%20Once%20Again%20Rules%20Counties%20Shall%20Not%20Count%20Illegal%20Ballots&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/18\/pennsylvania-supreme-court-once-again-rules-counties-shall-not-count-illegal-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/18\/pennsylvania-supreme-court-once-again-rules-counties-shall-not-count-illegal-ballots\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Pennsylvania%20Supreme%20Court%20Once%20Again%20Rules%20Counties%20Shall%20Not%20Count%20Illegal%20Ballots&amp;body=In%20its%20decision,%20the%20PA%20Supreme%20Court%20ordered%20that%20all%20counties,%20%E2%80%9CSHALL%20COMPLY%20with%20the%20prior%20rulings%20of%20this%20Court.'%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/18\/pennsylvania-supreme-court-once-again-rules-counties-shall-not-count-illegal-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/14\/people-violate-laws-anytime-they-want-pa-county-dems-defy-state-law-to-count-hundreds-of-illegal-votes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">defied<\/a> the law by voting to count improperly dated ballots to swing the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race for Democrat incumbent Bob Casey.<\/p>\n<p>While a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/14\/sen-casey-wants-ballots-from-unregistered-voters-to-be-counted-in-pennsylvania-recount\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recount<\/a> is underway for the Pennsylvania Senate race between <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/18\/pennsylvanias-democrat-leadership-looks-the-other-way-as-county-partisans-find-votes-for-loser-bob-casey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">losing<\/a> incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/07\/mccormick-flips-pennsylvania-senate-seat-republican-increasing-the-gops-advantage-in-the-upper-chamber\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">winner<\/a> &mdash; by a thin margin &mdash; 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/03\/last-minute-supreme-court-decisions-temporarily-settle-pennsylvanias-embattled-election-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ordered<\/a> ahead of the election that ballots not meeting these requirements should not be counted.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ed2717a7b6ade7196bce74a85b75997d fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ed2717a7b6ade7196bce74a85b75997d\"><\/div>\n<p>Boards of elections in Bucks, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/18\/desperate-pennsylvania-dems-cling-to-the-lie-that-casey-can-still-win\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Montgomery<\/a>, Centre, and Philadelphia counties said in public meetings that they had decided to count such ballots in defiance of the law and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/9-key-points-from-trump-campaign-press-conference-on-challenges-to-election-results\/\" title=\"9 Key Points from Trump Campaign Press Conference on Challenges to Election Results\">state supreme court<\/a>. 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">reconsider previously rejected provisional ballots<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Precedent by a court doesn&rsquo;t matter anymore in this country, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bucks-county-commissioners-vote-to-count-illegal-ballots-in-pennsylvania-recount-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Bucks County commissioners vote to count illegal ballots in Pennsylvania recount - Washington Examiner\">people violate laws anytime<\/a> they want,&rdquo; Bucks County Democrat Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/17\/bob-casey-endorsed-bucks-county-board-now-boosting-his-recount-against-court-order\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> before voting to count illegal ballots. Out loud. In a public meeting. <\/p>\n<p>Other counties made the same law-defying decision.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5d1d748a6ca0d7fd7f334540d9773c4f fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5d1d748a6ca0d7fd7f334540d9773c4f\"><\/div>\n<p>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. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In its decision, the court ordered that all counties, &ldquo;[i]ncluding the Boards of Elections in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County, <strong>SHALL COMPLY<\/strong> 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 &hellip; <strong>SHALL NOT BE COUNTED<\/strong> for purposes of the election held on November 5, 2024&Prime; (emphasis original).<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; Monday&rsquo;s decision further explains. <\/p>\n<p>Despite the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-democrats-scramble-to-change-law-limiting-student-population-to-reduce-environmental-impact\/\" title=\"California Democrats Scramble to Change Law Limiting Student Population to Reduce Environmental Impact\">state supreme court ruling<\/a> before the election, in a statement sent by the governor&rsquo;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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a44ec71f6d31a818fa0bde12b9ed234f fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a44ec71f6d31a818fa0bde12b9ed234f\"><\/div>\n<p>The McCormick campaign released a statement after the decision.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Today&rsquo;s ruling is a massive setback to Senator Casey&rsquo;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,&rdquo; said Elizabeth Gregory, McCormick communications director in an email.<\/p>\n<p>RNC Chair Michael Whatley also released a statement following the decision, warning county officials that they have &ldquo;no more excuses.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Election officials in Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and other counties have absolutely no choice but to reject illegal ballots. We will hold them to it,&rdquo; he wrote.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"BHs3jklybmxdMAWLZuRtGFvvXF6gUUA1jJL5eXgDf2NStyWpxlY52d67n8zS4D4wVQ3\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">MCCORMICK\/CASEY RECOUNT UPDATE:<\/p>\n<p>Following our latest RNC lawsuit, today the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled yet again that undated ballots CANNOT BE COUNTED.<\/p>\n<p>No more excuses. Election officials in Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and other counties have absolutely no choice&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChairmanWhatley\/status\/1858612405380804949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0cfc47e6f3b6968819ce069e2c6900e8 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0cfc47e6f3b6968819ce069e2c6900e8\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Beth Brelje<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BethBrelje\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BethBrelje<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/beth-brelje\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2024-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2024 election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/bob-casey\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Bob Casey<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/bucks-county\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Bucks County<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dave-mccormick\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Dave McCormick<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-code\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election code<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/envelope\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Envelope<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/montgomery-county\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Montgomery County<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pennsylvania-supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pennsylvania Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pennsyvania\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pennsyvania<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/philadelphia-county\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">philadelphia county<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/recount\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Recount<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/rnc\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">RNC<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pennsylvania Supreme Court mandated that all counties adhere to state election laws by only counting valid ballots<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":2370531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/judiciary2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[45273,32644,45030,45272],"class_list":["post-2370530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-county-rules","tag-election-integrity","tag-illegal-ballots","tag-pa-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/judiciary2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2370530"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2370534,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370530\/revisions\/2370534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2370531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2370530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2370530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2370530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}