Democratic Party sues PA election board over rejected provisional ballots as recount continues

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a lawsuit Monday over the counting of dozens of provisional ballots in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, alleging that the rejection of the ballots violates both the due process clause of the Constitution and other voter protections.

The lawsuit, which DSCC filed in state court against the Bucks County Board of Elections on behalf of Sen. Bob Casey, is the latest in a wave of lawsuits in the Keystone State as it The official recount of the Senate elections begins.

The case involves 74 provisional ballots in Bucks County that were disqualified because they lacked an inner “secrecy envelope” required for provisional ballots in the state.

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Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick speaks at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Democratic Party lawyers argued in the court filing that the provisional voting errors were the “direct result” of inaccurate instructions from poll workers, rather than the voters themselves, and therefore violated both the due process and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). ), which states that “an individual's provisional ballot 'shall be counted…in accordance with state law' if election officials determine that the individual is eligible to vote.”

By excluding those provisional ballots that were the result of election staff errors, the attorneys argued, the Bucks County Board of Elections is “illegally disenfranchising” voters and harming Casey’s electoral prospects.

The lawsuit involves only 74 ballots, making it unlikely it will have a significant impact on the recount in Pennsylvania.

But it comes amid a wave of recent court cases in the Keystone State, where Republican candidate David McCormick narrowly edged out Casey by just 17,000 votes, according to unofficial State Department data — putting Casey well within the 0.5% margin of error required by law. Pennsylvania law to trigger an automatic recount.

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Supporters of former President Trump attend a campaign rally in State College, Pennsylvania. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

The Senate recount began Monday and will continue until November 26.

Republican Party officials have argued that the results were decisive and that Casey has no possible path to victory.

They also criticized Casey for refusing to waive recountnoting that it will cost taxpayers approximately $1 million.

McCormick, for his part, called for his own recount in 2022 after being defeated in the Republican Senate primary by TV celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz.

News of the trial comes after Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled Monday that mail-in ballots with incorrect or missing dates cannot be counted in the 2024 election, handing a victory to Republican Party officials as they prepare to aggressively defend their short victory in the Senate.

President Biden and Senator Bob Casey tour the Allentown Fire Training Academy in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Casey's campaign used news of the DSCC lawsuit to reiterate its criticism of the numerous Republican-led lawsuits that have been filed across the Commonwealth that they say risk disenfranchising voters.

“Thousands of Pennsylvanians' votes are being called into question across the Commonwealth as David McCormick and national Republicans work to reject ballots cast by eligible voters and accepted by county election boards,” said a campaign spokesperson at Fox News Digital.

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Casey “will continue to fight efforts to disenfranchise voters to ensure Pennsylvanians' voices are heard and eligible voters can participate in our democracy,” the spokesperson added.

The DSCC did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment on the lawsuit.