Pennsylvania Senate Primary Undated Ballots Challenge
McCormick v. Chapman
Lawsuit filed on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick against Pennsylvania election officials arguing that undated mail-in ballots should be counted in the Senate primary election. McCormick is facing Dr. Mehmet Oz in the Republican primary. The complaint argues that all counties should count mail-in ballots missing a handwritten date signed on the outer envelope because this is an immaterial omission that does not reflect the voters’ eligibility. The plaintiff argues that rejecting undated ballots violates the Civil Rights Act and Free Elections Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Of note is that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a few days before this lawsuit was filed that undated ballots for a judicial election in Lehigh County must be counted. A hearing on McCormick’s request for immediate relief was held on Tuesday, May 31. The Commonwealth Court granted McCormick’s request and ordered counties to count the undated ballots, but maintain separate results — one with the undated ballots included and one without. The Republican committees that intervened in the case appealed this decision, but then withdrew their appeal.
Review the updates from this race here.
Case Documents (Commonwealth court)
Case Documents (Pa supreme court)
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