The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered election officials to stop counting mail-in ballots with the wrong date or missing dates on their outer envelopes in Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. This decision came after Republican Dave McCormick, who holds a narrow lead over Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in the Senate race, filed a petition seeking to invalidate these ballots. McCormick’s campaign sees this ruling as a setback to Casey’s attempt to count illegal ballots, while Casey’s campaign characterizes it as an effort to disenfranchise voters. The race remains too close to call, with McCormick leading by 17,408 votes, triggering a recount under Pennsylvania rules. The recount, scheduled to start this week, must be completed by November 26th. The lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania targeted election boards led by Democrats in the three counties for counting ballots with incorrect dates. The counties had previously argued that an incorrect date did not render a ballot ineligible or illegitimate. This ruling sets the stage for a contentious recount that will ultimately determine the outcome of the Senate race between McCormick and Casey.
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