Dems sue PA election board over uncounted provisional ballots amid Senate recount in Casey loss

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a lawsuit Monday over the counting of dozens of provisional ballots in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, alleging that rejecting the ballots violates both the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution and other protections for voters.

The lawsuit, which the DSCC filed in state court against the Bucks County Board of Elections on behalf of Sen. Bob Casey, is the latest in a flurry of legal action in the Keystone State as it begins its official Senate election recount. 

The case centers on 74 provisional ballots in Bucks County that were disqualified because they lacked an inner “secrecy envelope” required for provisional ballots in the state.

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Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick speaks during a campaign event in Pennsylvania. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Lawyers for the Democratic Party argued in the court filing that the provisional ballot errors were the “direct result” of inaccurate instructions from poll workers, rather than the voters themselves, and therefore violated both the due process clause and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which states that “an individual’s provisional ballot “shall be counted… in accordance with state law” if election officials determine that the individual is eligible to vote.  

By excluding these provisional ballots that were the result of poll worker errors, lawyers argued, the Bucks County Board of Elections “unlawfully disenfranchises” voters and harms Casey’s electoral prospects.

The lawsuit centers on just 74 ballots, making it unlikely it will have any significant impact on the recount in Pennsylvania. 

But it comes amid a flurry of recent lawsuits in the Keystone State, where Republican candidate David McCormick narrowly edged out Casey by just 17,000 votes, according to unofficial data from the Department of State – putting Casey well within the 0.5% margin of error required under Pennsylvania law to trigger an automatic recount. 

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Supporters of former President Trump attend a campaign rally in State College, Pennsylvania. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

The Senate recount began Monday, and will continue through Nov. 26.

Republican Party officials have argued that the results have been decisive and that Casey lacks any achievable path to victory.

They have also criticized Casey for declining to waive the recount, noting that it will cost taxpayers an estimated $1 million. 

McCormick, for his part, called for a recount of his own in 2022 after he was beaten in the Republican Senate primary by TV celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz.

News of the lawsuit comes after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that mail-in ballots with incorrect or missing dates cannot be counted in the 2024 election, delivering a victory to Republican Party officials as they moved to aggressively defend their narrow Senate victory.

President Biden and Sen. Bob Casey visit the Allentown Fire Training Academy in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Casey’s campaign used news of the DSCC lawsuit to reiterate their criticism of the many Republican-led lawsuits that have been filed in the commonwealth, and which they have suggested risk disenfranchising voters.

“Thousands of Pennsylvanians’ votes are in question across the commonwealth as David McCormick and national Republicans work to throw out ballots cast by eligible voters and accepted by county election boards,” a spokesperson for the campaign told Fox News Digital.

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Casey will “continue to fight back against efforts to disenfranchise voters to ensure Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard and that eligible voters can participate in our democracy,” the spokesperson added.

The DSCC did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment on the lawsuit.