Pennsylvania House Republican leaders Bryan Cutler and Jesse Topper expressed approval of a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision regarding mail-in and absentee ballots. The court’s ruling in the case of Republican National Committee v. All 67 County Boards of Elections mandates that counties should not count ballots failing to meet the requirements of the Pennsylvania Election Code.
Cutler and Topper released a joint statement saying, “We applaud the decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to order counties to not count mail-in and absentee ballots that fail to comply with the Pennsylvania Election Code. This ruling not only upholds the rule of law but is also in line with the clear and plain reading of the Election Code and several past court decisions upholding the validity of the dating requirement for mail-in and absentee ballots.”
The leaders emphasized that laws are not inherently confusing or inconsistent simply because they are unpopular, stating, “A law is not confusing or inconsistent merely because people do not like it. The Pennsylvania Election Code unambiguously states that mail-in and absentee ballots must be correctly dated to be valid.”
Furthermore, they suggested that Sen. Bob Casey should concede to Sen.-elect Dave McCormick, citing this court decision as evidence that a recount would be unnecessary. They said, “Given this decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, it is clear Sen. Bob Casey should concede the election to Sen.-elect Dave McCormick and save Pennsylvania counties and taxpayers the time and expense of a recount and the continued, unwarranted questions about the validity of the election.”
Media inquiries were directed to Jason Gottesman at 717-512-0620 or via email at jgottesman@pahousegop.com.
