PA Supreme Court Intervenes In Casey-McCormick Election Battle

PENNSYLVANIA — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday weighed in on the disputed U.S. Senate election between Sen. Bob Casey and challenger Dave McCormick, ordering the state's 67 counties not to count mail-in ballots lacking a correct handwritten date on the return envelope.

The order is a blow for the Casey campaign, which contended the ballots should not be rejected for minor errors such as the lack of a date. The McCormick camp asserted that state law prohibits such ballots from being counted.

Democratic-majority election boards in Montgomery County, Philadelphia and Bucks County last week voted to count the ballots that lacked a correct date, contending the date has no bearing on voter eligibility or ballot legitimacy.

The edict comes as the the Democratic incumbent and his Republican opponent prepare for a statewide recount that will not be completed until Nov. 27.

According to the Department of State website, as of Tuesday McCormick had 3,395,140 votes to Casey's 3,377,457 votes. That gives McCormick 48.84 percent to Casey's 48.58 percent, which is inside the 0.5 percent threshold to trigger an automatic statewide recount under Pennsylvania law.

The Associated Press declared McCormick the victor that day after the Nov. 5 election, but Casey has yet to concede.