Commonwealth Court hears arguments over mail-in ballots
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pennsylvanians are still waiting to learn who will be the Republican Senate candidate this November.
Hundreds of mail-in ballots are at the center of a court case in Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg.
Right now, 922 votes separate the two candidates, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. The issue is mail-in ballots that were in on time but not dated. More than 800 ballots fall into this category.
Dave McCormick, who is trailing in the race, filed the lawsuit. Mehmet Oz's campaign is against the counting of the 800-some ballots.
"There's always a little bit of politics here. I have no doubt if the situation was reversed, the candidates would have opposite opinions," University of Pittsburgh Political Science Professor Chris Bonneau said.
State law says you must have a date for the mail-in ballot to count. Just last week, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court ruled that was not material in qualifying a vote or not. It ruled that these ballots should be counted, causing a contradiction between the federal ruling and state law.
"The more steps you have, the more likely voters are going to make a mistake and forget one of the things they need to do," Bonneau said.
For about 3 1/5 hours on Tuesday, the McCormick campaign and Dr. Oz campaign argued about whether the ballots should or should not count. The state also argued for the ballots to count, but the state GOP argued against it.
After the arguments and rebuttals, the judge adjourned without deciding Tuesday.
"I would think they would want to make a decision relatively soon because we have to wrap this election up," Bonneau said.
The recount for the race begins in Allegheny County on Wednesday.
