Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said her comments about ignoring a Pennsylvania Supreme Court precedent were taken out of context.
Ellis-Marseglia said people misinterpreted an “inartfully worded statement on my part” when she voted to ignore the court’s directive to disqualify ballots that were not signed or dated properly. Ellis-Marseglia’s comments have attracted criticism from Republicans and Democrats, as well as accusations that the county was attempting to subvert an election in favor of Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA).
“I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused,” Ellis-Marseglia said.
Last Thursday, the three-person Bucks County Board of Elections voted 2-1 to count misdated and updated ballots despite the state Supreme Court’s ruling that such ballots were invalid.
“People violate laws any time they want,” Ellis-Marseglia said before her vote. “So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention. There’s nothing more important than counting votes.”
President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, tore into the members, saying they “will go to jail” for their votes.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) broke his silence on the matter Monday after days of demands from Republicans for him to shoot down the apparent election interference playing out in Bucks County.
“Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process,” Shapiro said. “It is critical for counties and officials in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions.”
On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a statement enforcing its ruling, explicitly stating that election officials should not include undated mail ballots.
Ellis-Marseglia said the state Supreme Court weighing in on the matter, again, was what she intended to force by ignoring the ruling last week.
“This is exactly what I was hoping for, for the court to weigh in and give us clarity,” Ellis-Marseglia said. “We were under a stay, and now we have full clarity.”
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With Republican Sen.-elect Dave McCormick (R-PA) ahead of Casey by less than half of a percentage point, a recount is underway, thus prompting the legal battle over counting undated ballots.
Counties began their recount last Wednesday and have until Nov. 27 to report their results to the secretary of the commonwealth.
