He refused to accept the outcome of an election and decided that he was not prepared to hand over his office to the man who beat him at the ballot box. And so, he and his associates decided that, by whatever means possible, they would find enough votes to reverse the result of that election. Is this about Donald Trump in November of 2020? No, this is about Democrat Bob Casey in 2024.
Casey, who was running for his fourth term as Pennsylvania senator, was defeated by his Republican challenger, David McCormick. When the Associated Press called the race for McCormick on Nov. 7, the margin of votes separating the two candidates was slim. The Republican was leading Bob Casey by about 26,000 votes. The call in favor of McCormick was made on the determination that, of the votes still to be counted, not enough of them were from precincts favoring the incumbent, and there was little to no chance that Casey would overcome the deficit. As AP put it, there “were not enough in areas supporting Casey for him to make up the difference.”
Nevertheless, the senator refused to concede. The result, as it stood, was within a one-half of one percentage point difference, and, in accordance with state law, that triggered a recount.
Nothing much to see here so far, right? A very close race goes to a recount. This was certainly not a first. The problem – and it could turn into a legal one for Democrats – is which ballots are being included in the recount. Prior to the Nov. 5 election, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that incorrectly dated or undated ballots could not be counted. However, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia has announced that the ballots ruled ineligible by the Supreme Court will now be counted.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has a Democrat majority.
Bob Casey Has Friends in All the Right Places
Ellis-Marseglia was endorsed by Bob Casey when she ran for the office of commissioner. She reportedly donated to Casey's re-election campaign. Her justification for disregarding a state Supreme Court ruling? “[B]ecause I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn't matter anymore in this country and people violate laws anytime they want. So for me, if I violate this law, it's because I want a court to pay attention to it.”
What the commissioner meant by that is open to interpretation. And certainly, she is not speaking for all Democrats. Ellis-Marseglia has come under fire by members of her own party in the Keystone State. Nevertheless, the commissioner is openly admitting that she is willing to disregard state law – and clearly, in this case, she is doing so because she believes or suspects that enough ineligible ballots can be counted to overturn the election result in favor of Bob Casey.
When Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer invited freshman senators to Washington, DC, for orientation, he did not initially extend an invite to McCormick.
Pennsylvania Republican Party Chair Lawrence Tabas declared, "What’s taking place in these counties is absolute lawlessness." Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley took to X, stating, "Let’s be clear about what’s happening here: Democrats in Pennsylvania are brazenly trying to break the law by attempting to count illegal ballots. They are doing this because they want to steal a senate seat.” And it seems Republicans are not the only ones who think so.
As Fox News reported Monday, November 18:
“The state Supreme Court reaffirmed its prior decision in a 4–3 ruling Monday that counties cannot count incorrectly dated or undated ballots. The decision singled out the Boards of Elections in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County, whom they said ‘SHALL COMPLY with the prior rulings of this Court in which we have clarified’ for mail-in and absentee ballots in their Nov. 1 ruling.”
This ruling prompted Pennsylvania’s Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro to finally weigh in on the matter. He said "Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process… The rule of law matters in Pennsylvania. … It is critical for counties in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions."
Lost Causes and Election Deniers
The recount will run through Nov. 26, with the result expected to be announced the following day. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reporting on the contested race, observed, “Recounts that have changed the result of a statewide election are exceptionally rare. Of the 6,929 statewide election recounts across the country between 2000 and 2023, only three resulted in the trailing candidate coming out ahead, according to an analysis by the election-focused nonprofit FairVote.”
The paper added, “The four automatic recounts that have taken place in Pennsylvania during that time have all confirmed the leading candidates’ victories.” By most accounts, Bob Casey has nothing more than the slimmest chance of prevailing in the recount.
Casey could have conceded. He could have waived the recount that, by various estimates, will cost the taxpayers of Pennsylvania between one and two million dollars. Instead, the senator and those who are backing him in his likely hopeless fight to keep his seat have decided to commit what so many elected Democrats at the federal level have declared a cardinal sin. Then again, this is by no means the first example of certain high-profile Democrats taking the position that election results cannot be disputed – unless they lose.
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