RNC files two lawsuits in Pennsylvania amid Sen Bob Casey refusing to concede race
Fox News
The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed two new lawsuits in Pennsylvania after several state boards of elections voted to count several undated mail ballots following the state supreme court’s ruling on the issue.
The two suits come in light of Democrat incumbent Sen. Bob Casey refusing to concede the tightly run race to his GOP challenger, Sen.-elect Dave McCormick.
“Tonight the RNC is filing two new lawsuits — in Bucks County and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court — to STOP the counting of illegal ballots. We have won this court battle several times already,” GOP Chairman Michael Whatley tweeted on X Wednesday evening.
“The RNC is filing a motion in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to ensure that Pennsylvania’s democratic process is not undermined by the inclusion of illegal ballots in the final vote count,” Whatley said in a statement released. “Pennsylvanians are ready to move forward with Dave McCormick representing them in the Senate as Bob Casey torches whatever legacy he had with these anti-democratic schemes.”
The Philadelphia City Commissioners told Fox News Digital in a statement that several Pennsylvania county boards of elections, including Philadelphia, had voted to count a “relatively small number of undated and incorrectly dated mail ballots.”
“Republicans filed a petition to the PA Supreme Court against all counties to attempt to stop all counties from counting these ballots,” the statement said. “They also filed a statutory appeal challenging Bucks County’s decision to count undated and incorrectly dated mail ballots. We are reviewing the filings.”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court previously sided with the GOP in its effort to block the counting of undated mail-in ballots ahead of the 2024 general election.
PENNSYLVANIA SENATE RACE TRIGGERS RECOUNT, WITH MCCORMICK PROJECTED TO WIN AND CASEY YET TO CONCEDE
“It’s ridiculous,” an RNC official told Fox News Digital. “The court just ruled on this two weeks ago. And it’s just very clear to us that Democrat lawyers and officials see a way to kind of make money off of Bob Casey by trying out this process, but Dave McCormick is already in D.C. to attend Senate orientation.”
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced in a press statement Wednesday that the “unofficial results in the Nov. 5 general election race for U.S. Senate” had triggered an automatic statewide recount.
As of Wednesday, Casey had won 3,350,972 votes (48.50%), while McCormick had won 3,380,310 votes (48.93%), according to the statement released.
Once the counties have finalized counting their ballots, they must begin their recounts no later than Wednesday, Sept. 20 and finish by Nov. 26 at noon. Results reports must then be submitted to the secretary by noon on Nov. 27.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling effectively overturned a decision from a Commonwealth Court just days ahead of the Nov. 5 election, which held that the state law requiring a handwritten date was unconstitutional. The Pennsylvania GOP appealed that ruling to the state supreme court.
Pennsylvania Republicans applauded the ruling at the time, saying Democrats have repeatedly tried to subvert the dating requirement.
“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the law, and the dated ballot requirement will be in effect for this election. Democrats have repeatedly tried to eliminate this important ballot safeguard, and we have stopped them each time,” Whatley said in a statement at the time.