In a key decision for the Pennsylvania Senate race, the state’s highest court has ruled that certain mail-in ballots shouldn’t be counted. The ruling affects ballots from Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties, where election officials had been counting mail-in votes that were missing a date or had the wrong date on their outer envelopes.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered these counties to stop counting those ballots, following earlier court rulings that said ballots without the correct date should not be counted.
This is seen as a win for Republican candidate Dave McCormick, who is narrowly leading Democratic Senator Bob Casey in a race that is too close to call. A recount will start this week, and the final results are expected by November 26.
McCormick’s campaign is celebrating the court’s decision, with a spokesperson calling it a big win against efforts to count ballots they consider “illegal.” McCormick, who leads by about 17,000 votes, is hopeful that the recount will confirm his victory.
On the other hand, Casey’s team is pushing back, accusing McCormick and other Republicans of trying to deny eligible voters’ ballots. They argue that many voters who cast provisional ballots should have their votes counted.
Even though McCormick has declared victory, NBC News has yet to make an official call on the race. With a margin this small, the recount is expected to be a crucial step in determining the winner.
