HARRISBURG (AP) – The recount underway in PA’s U.S. Senate race has become the latest example of how disputed rules can expose weak points in a core function of American elections. The ballot-counting process in the race between incumbent Democrat Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick come down to hours-long election board meetings, lawsuits, and accusations that some county officials are openly flouting the law. The Associated Press called the race for McCormick, concluding that not enough ballots remained to be counted in areas Casey was winning for him to take the lead. As the race goes to a recount, which must be concluded by next Tuesday, Republicans have claimed that Democrats are trying to steal McCormick’s seat by counting improper votes. Casey’s campaign said Republicans are trying to block enough votes to prevent him from pulling ahead and winning. Part of the dispute has centered around the date requirement on the return envelope that contains a mail-in ballot. Republicans say state law and court precedent is clear and that mail ballots must be discarded if their envelopes don’t meet the criteria. Democrats insist that ballots should not be tossed out because of what they call technicalities.
