Pennsylvania’s Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro has urged Democrats to stop trying to steal the Senate race from Republicans.
Democratic Senator Bob Casey, who has held the seat for 18 years and feels entitled to retaining it, is refusing to concede the race to Republican Dave McCormick despite the race being called by multiple networks and election experts.
As Casey and his Democratic supporters have tried to steal the race by forcing the counting of illegal ballots, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the state’s 67 counties must comply with their earlier ruling and stop counting undated or misdated ballots.
Shapiro, who had so far remained silent on Casey’s efforts to steal the election, released a statement urging Casey and his team to accept the ruling:
As I have made clear for years, every eligible Pennsylvanian’s vote should be counted in every race – and thanks to the hard work of Republican and Democratic election officials all across the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania has held another free, fair, safe, and secure election.
As counties continued counting ballots from the 2024 general election and a mandatory statewide recount begins in the U.S. Senate race, they were confronted with a lack of legal clarity surrounding undated mail-in ballots that caused significant confusion and put counties in a challenging legal position.
Both my predecessor and I have repeatedly called on lawmakers to deliver greater clarity on mail-in voting – and due to certain legislative actors refusing to act on critical election reforms, this issue had been left to the courts.
Given this lack of clarity, county officials in each of our 67 counties were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t – likely facing legal action no matter which decision they made on counting.
The Department of State had advised counties repeatedly of their duty to segregate challenged provisional ballots and undated ballots in anticipation of a ruling by the court. The court has now ruled on the counting of these ballots specific to the November 5, 2024 election and I expect all county election officials to adhere to this ruling and all the applicable laws governing our elections.
As we move forward, I want to be clear: 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 this Commonwealth, and as I have always said, it is critical for counties and officials in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions.
As Governor, I will continue working to protect our democracy and the votes of all eligible Pennsylvanians – and we will continue to have free, fair, safe, secure elections in our Commonwealth.”
BREAKING: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro denounces illegal vote-counting to benefit Bob Casey in Senate race
“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 this… pic.twitter.com/cJmt31nTwB
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 19, 2024
Such comments underline how Shapiro, who was surprisingly passed over as Kamala Harris’s running mate, is seeking to build his reputation ahead of a likely 2028 presidential run.
His response also appears to narrow the path for Casey to win the seat, indicating he no longer has the backing of key Democratic allies in his efforts steal the election from its rightful winner Dave McCormick.
Should Casey still somehow prevail, which is not beyond the realm of possibility, Senator Mike Lee of Utah has come up with a proposal to block him.
According to Lee, who is a respected jurist and constitutional expert, the Senate could simply refuse Casey if he attempts to claim victory.
“If Bob Casey doesn’t concede, Pennsylvania keeps counting illegal votes, [and] Casey relies on those votes to claim victory, the Senate could refuse to seat him,” he wrote on the X platform.
Lee went on to cite a constitutional clause that states: “Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.”
If Bob Casey doesn’t concede, Pennsylvania keeps counting illegal votes, & Casey relies on those votes to claim victory, the Senate could refuse to seat him
Article I, Sec. 5, Cl. 1: “Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members” https://t.co/LVPyKxnyMN
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) November 16, 2024
