Dave McCormick, Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, sues counting ballots by mail without date – NBC10 Philadelphia

Dave McCormick, who is inferior to Mehmet Oz by a small margin Republican primary election to the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvaniafiled a lawsuit in the state appeals court to have all 67 counties and the secretary of state count the ballots by mail without a date for the final count.

Some Pennsylvania counties that control the collection and counting of ballots keep undated ballot papers by mail “suspended,” McCormick’s company said in a lawsuit filed Monday in Commonwealth court.

The lawsuit cites a ruling by a federal court last week, according to which undated ballots received in last year’s general election count towards the final results.

McCormick’s spokeswoman said Oz, who led McCormick on Monday 937 votes out of more than 1.3 million ballots cast last Tuesday, trying to prevent counties from counting these undated ballots. The Oz company could not be reached immediately for comment. The recount of votes in the primaries from Republicans to the Senate is mandatory in any election held by 0.5% or less. Oz and McCormick are separated by less than 0.1%.

“These ballots were undoubtedly submitted on time – they were stamped with the date of receipt – and there were no frauds or violations,” McCormick’s lawsuit said. “The only reason for disenfranchisement of these voters (constituency elections) is a technical error that is not significant under both state and federal law.”

In Philadelphia, where 104 Republican voters sent out ballots without a date, county chair Lisa Deeley said she believes the city’s election commission should count those ballots at the May 17 primaries. This week, a panel of three commissioners will vote on whether to include these ballots without a date before sending unofficial election results to the state for certification.

“Dateless ballots will go before the voting council this week, and I plan to vote to count them, just as I did every time this category appeared, even after they threatened to impeach me.” Dili said, referring to previous election cycles since 2020, when opposition to sending ballots by mail without a date or without a signature was challenged in court. “I urge my fellow Commissioners to join me in voting to count these ballots. We know when we sent the ballots, we know when each one was returned, and we know they were all received on time. It’s time to end the deprivation. suffrage due to errors or omissions that are not relevant to determining whether such a person is entitled to vote. “

McCormick’s lawsuit is in direct opposition to lawmakers and Republican campaigns, which for the past two years have sought to limit the use of postal ballots, especially those that do not fully comply with state laws governing postal voting.

However, despite Republican opposition, most claims to the ballots by mail, including former President Donald Trump’s election campaign, have failed in state and federal appeals courts.

The Republican Party of Pennsylvania said in a statement Monday that it does not support McCormick’s lawsuit.