An obscure court lawsuit concerning postal ballots has thrown a wrench into Pennsylvania’s too-close-to-call GOP Senate battle. Following a court order on a prior race, Dave McCormick is seeking undated mail-in ballots to be calculated in his close Republican election against Mehmet Oz.
David McCormick’s campaign appealed to the state’s counties on Friday, arguing that mail-in and absentee ballots received without dates on their envelopes should be counted. A three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a decision mere hours earlier on Friday, according to the David McCormick team. Hundreds of undated mail-in and absentee ballots received on time but undated should be counted in a 2021 county judgeship race, according to the report.
David McCormick Is Pushing For All Undated Ballots To Be Counted
As of Saturday afternoon, Mehmet Oz was leading David McCormick by around 1,100 votes, or 0.1 percentage point. If the top two contenders are separated by half a percent or less, the primary is anticipated to go to a recount, unless the runner-up waives it off.
Officials say they should know if there will be a recount by Tuesday, and the state’s chief election officer must make a formal determination by Thursday.
David McCormick, who is outperforming Oz in such ballots, has gained some ground as outstanding mail-in and absentee ballots have been counted. The Department of State said on Friday morning that around 8,300 Republican mail-in and absentee votes remained to be counted. Un-dated ballots are not included in this total.
The state is still unsure how far the circuit court’s judgment will apply beyond the judgeship election in 2021. The Pennsylvania Department of State has yet to give formal instructions to county election officials, and the three-judge panel has yet to release its formal decision on the subject, which would more clearly spell out both the court’s legal grounds and the repercussions of their verdict. This information might arrive as soon as next week.
