Conservative activist Scott Presler told the Bucks County Board of Elections commissioner who gleefully defied the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week and moved to count ballots missing a signature, that if she does not resign immediately, he will make it his mission to ensure she loses her seat when it is up for election.
During Tuesday’s board meeting, which was heavily attended, Presler blasted Bucks County Board of Commissions chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia and vice chair Robert Harvie Jr.
“I have a message peacefully, peacefully, we are coming for your seat in 2027 if you don’t resign today,” Presler said.
“Have at it,” a woman said in response, though it is unclear if it was Ellis-Marseglia.
“I am coming for your seat peacefully. And Harvie, Commissioner Harvie, this goes for you, too. You are complicit,” Presler added.
Presler then called out Marc Elias, a top election lawyer for Democrats, and committed to working to make the purple county red over the next several years:
Marc Elias and his cronies must be disbarred from practicing law in Pennsylvania. Any of his cronies for the misconduct that they did, I want you to know that I am going to spend all of my time in Bucks County for the next three years, making sure that we take back this county.
Ellis-Marseglia and Harvie Jr. decided in a two-to-one motion last Tuesday to count just over 400 misdated or undated mail-in ballots, counsel for Sen-elect Dave McCormick (R-PA) pointed out in a lawsuit against the Bucks County Board of Elections in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.
“The Board did so even though its legal advisers recommended rejecting the ballots ‘based on the current state of the law,’” the appeal read.
The Associated Press notably declared McCormick the winner of the race on November 7, but Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has refused to concede as Democrats challenge the results.
On Monday, the Pennsylavnia Supreme Court ordered that county Boards of Elections throughout the state follow its previous rulings and not count “mail-in and absentee ballots that fail to comply” with the state election code in a win for Republicans.
On November 14, days after they moved to count the misdated or undated mail-in ballots, Ellis-Marseglia and Harvie Jr., in a two-to-one decision, moved to count provisional ballots missing signatures in either one of two places.
Again, the county’s legal department advised the board not to count the votes, but the two commissioners ignored the counsel. Moments before the vote, Walter Zimolong, an attorney for McCormick, also cited a recent Supreme Court ruling that said voters must sign in both places for the ballots to count.
“What the Supreme Court said was there is a clear mandate in Section 3050 (a)(4) of the election code that says the voter has to sign in both places, and it very clearly says, what happens, that ballot shall not count,” Zimolong said.
Ellis-Marseglia said ahead of the vote she did not value court precedent in America and indicated she was indifferent as to whether she was breaking the law in her official capacity by moving to count the votes.
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“I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws anytime they want,” she said. “So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it.”
“And there is nothing more important than counting votes, and I’ll take it all the way,” she added.
Her comments went viral, and Ellis-Marseglia, who says she has since received death threats, apologized for her actions at Tuesday’s board meeting, claiming the “passion in my heart got the best of me.”
“It was genuinely not the best words. I would do it all again. I feel terrible about it. I should have been more clear. I will be more clear in the future,” she said to groans from citizens who packed the meeting.
“I mean, it is an apology. So bear with me. That’s not like I’m not saying anything against any of you,” she said in response.
At one point, she shushed those in attendance when they spoke out during her explanation and went on to clarify that her remark about not respecting precedent was regarding the U.S. Supreme Court, including its decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, rather then the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
“When I inartfully spoke and used the word precedent when I was talking about provisional ballots, I was referring to the United States Supreme Court and the precedent that has been lost on many issues, including Roe versus Wade,” she said to very loud groans from constituents that turned into boos.
“If you would just bear with me for one more minute,” she said to more apparent disdain from citizens, leading to her banging her gavel.
“Unfortunately, I took my frustration out on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, many of whom are friends of mine and who I respect, and whose decisions are complicated and difficult and important,” she said.
