{"id":2370930,"date":"2024-11-19T16:37:02","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T21:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bob-casey-files-more-lawsuits-in-search-of-additional-votes\/"},"modified":"2024-11-19T16:42:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T21:42:11","slug":"bob-casey-files-more-lawsuits-in-search-of-additional-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bob-casey-files-more-lawsuits-in-search-of-additional-votes\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Casey Files More Lawsuits In Search Of Additional Votes \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><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%2Fbob-casey-files-more-lawsuits-in-search-of-additional-votes%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=2370930&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>In\u200b the\u200c ongoing\u2062 Pennsylvania Senate race, Bob Casey and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/seven-house-republicans-list-demands-for-next-speaker-as-mccarthy-battles-for-every-vote\/\" title=\"Seven House Republicans List Demands For Next Speaker As McCarthy Battles For Every Vote\">seeking additional votes<\/a> through legal challenges \u2062in local courts, despite facing a significant 17,502-vote deficit\u2063 against Republican Dave McCormick. Casey&#8217;s \u2063team is attempting to count 74 disputed ballots from \u200cBucks \u2064County and 98 \u200bfrom Erie County by arguing that poll worker errors led \u2062to improper expirations, which they claim should merit the inclusion of these ballots under the federal \u200cDue \u200dProcess Clause and the \u200bHelp America Vote Act (HAVA). However, \u200bPennsylvania law explicitly states that provisional ballots cannot be counted if they lack \u200ba secrecy envelope or\u2063 if \u2063they are improperly signed\u2014conditions that the rejected ballots failed to meet. Both cases have\u200b met with\u2062 skepticism, as history shows \u200dthat recounts in Pennsylvania \u2062rarely alter final outcomes.  <\/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>\n<p>If the Pennsylvania Senate race were a bottle of ketchup, Bob Casey and his team of lawyers have that sucker flipped upside down and are slapping the bottom furiously, trying to shake out every last <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heinz.com\/our-story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bit<\/a> onto their big, greasy plate of fries.<\/p>\n<p>So unhealthy.<\/p>\n<p>Losing Senate candidate Bob Casey and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dscc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DSCC<\/a>) have joined forces in two <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">local court cases urging county judges<\/a> to ignore Pennsylvania&rsquo;s clearly written election laws and plop more votes onto Casey&rsquo;s plate. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But there still won&rsquo;t be enough votes to cover the 17,502 vote gap between Casey and the winning candidate, Republican Dave McCormick. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionreturns.pa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">results<\/a> are close enough to trigger a recount, but Pennsylvania has never seen the results change after a recount, even in races that were far closer, according to Pennsylvania Department of State <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pa.gov\/en\/agencies\/dos\/newsroom\/unofficial-results-in-u-s--senate-race-trigger-legally-required-.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statistics<\/a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Casey&rsquo;s latest stab at finding more votes involves 74 ballots in Bucks County and 98 votes in Erie County, in creative cases filed Monday by the Elias Law Group, led by Democrat tool Marc Elias.<\/p>\n<p>Crumbs.<\/p>\n<p>Both cases blame poll workers for voter errors when casting improper ballots, and thus, they say, the ballots should be counted. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracydocket.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2024-11-18-Petition-3.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bucks,<\/a> the county board of elections voted not to count 74 provisional ballots because they were not enclosed in secrecy envelopes.<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania election <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/cfdocs\/legis\/LI\/uconsCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&amp;yr=1937&amp;sessInd=0&amp;smthLwInd=0&amp;act=0320.&amp;chpt=012.&amp;subchpt=000.&amp;sctn=010.&amp;subsctn=000.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">law<\/a> reads, &ldquo;A provisional ballot shall not be counted if &hellip; a provisional ballot envelope does not contain a secrecy envelope.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Casey&rsquo;s case argues, &ldquo;Voters who cast provisional ballots do so in person, in a process that requires the express direction of poll workers. In this environment, procedural errors made by voters in casting their ballots are necessarily a result of a poll worker&rsquo;s failure to provide required material or correct and accurate instructions to voters. Where election authority error leads a voter to make a mistake in voting, or election authorities have induced voters to vote in a manner that is unlawful, rejecting those votes violates the federal Due Process Clause.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The case also argues that the board&rsquo;s ruling violates the Help America Vote Act (<a href=\"https:\/\/uscode.house.gov\/view.xhtml?req=(title:52%20section:21082%20edition:prelim)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HAVA<\/a>), asserting that HAVA &ldquo;states that an individual&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvania-democrats-urge-supreme-court-to-keep-provisional-ballot-rule-in-place-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Pennsylvania Democrats urge Supreme Court to keep provisional ballot rule in place - Washington Examiner\">provisional ballot &#038;lsquo<\/a>;shall be counted &hellip; in accordance with state law&rsquo; if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/board-refuses-to-have-fulton-county-investigated-for-double-scanning-3000-ballots-in-2020-recount\/\" title=\"Board Denies Investigation into Fulton County for Double-Scanning 3,000 Ballots in 2020 Recount\">election officials determine<\/a> that the individual is eligible to vote.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Again, state law says a provisional ballot shall not be counted if it is missing the secrecy envelope.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracydocket.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2024-11-18-Petition-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Erie<\/a> County, the court filing makes the same arguments over a different ballot flaw: provisional ballots rejected because the voter signed the outer envelope once but failed to sign it a second time.<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania law requires two signatures for provisional ballots, both on the provisional ballot envelope. One signature is for an affidavit swearing the voter resides in the municipality where he is voting, and the other must be signed on the front of the provisional ballot envelope when the secrecy envelope is placed inside.<\/p>\n<p>The Erie case has almost the same wording as the Bucks filing: It is the poll workers&rsquo; fault if voters get it wrong, and the suit claims the votes should be counted.<\/p>\n<p>But Pennsylvania law says, &ldquo;A provisional ballot shall not be counted if &hellip; either the provisional ballot envelope &hellip; or the affidavit &hellip; is not signed by the individual.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Bucks and Erie County Courts of Common Pleas will sort out these last-ditch legal requests. If the judges follow Pennsylvania law and the cases don&rsquo;t go Casey&rsquo;s way, legal appeals are likely, which will draw out the entire process.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, election officials work on the recount, with results <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\">due<\/a> to the Department of State by Nov. 26.<\/p>\n<p>The McCormick team has <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\">said<\/a> repeatedly that Casey has no mathematical path to victory, even if he wins his cases. The Associated Press saw this when it <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/race-call-mccormick-wins-pennsylvania-senate-49bdac09ba654d07b88bc62b10b49154\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> the race for McCormick.<\/p>\n<p>So why is Casey, himself an attorney, bothering to bend over to pick up pennies? Is it to test the courts or set legal precedents for future elections? Is it to underscore laws the state Legislature should rewrite?<\/p>\n<p>Whatever the motive, Casey&rsquo;s legacy of an unremarkable career in the U.S. Senate will be marred by this useless pursuit.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lara-logan-challenges-media-to-ask-certain-questions-about-afghanistan\/\" title=\"Lara Logan Challenges Media To Ask Certain Questions About Afghanistan\">award-winning investigative journalist<\/a> with decades of media experience.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bob Casey and his lawyers are desperately trying to find votes in the Pennsylvania Senate race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":2370931,"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\/Casey-Sticks.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[43301,6571,7976,5894,32570],"class_list":["post-2370930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bob-casey","tag-elections","tag-lawsuits","tag-politics","tag-voting-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Casey-Sticks.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370930","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=2370930"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2370938,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370930\/revisions\/2370938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2370931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2370930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2370930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2370930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}