While the results of the 2024 presidential election were known within 12 hours of polls closing, the Pennsylvania senate race has still yet to be officially called.
On Nov. 7, election data from the Associated Press projected that Republican candidate Dave McCormick defeated Democratic incumbent Senator Bob Casey, flipping one of Pennsylvania’s two Senate seats to the GOP. The race has become one of the most contested in the two weeks since Election Day, with McCormick currently winning 48.8 percent of the vote compared to Casey’s 48.6 percent.
Because Senator-Elect McCormick won by less than 30,000 votes, the race is within the state’s 0.5 percent margin for a legally required recount of votes. The recount, which will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 20 and must end by noon on Tuesday, Nov. 26, has been mired in controversy since the results were called.
The process began when Casey contested the election results from the Associated Press. According to Casey, provisional, mail-in and absentee ballots had yet to be counted.
The issues with the recount stem from the ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans over what ballots are counted for elections. On Friday, Nov. 1, a 3-2 ruling in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared that ballots returned without a signature or correct date cannot be counted.
This decision sparked conflict in Philadelphia, Bucks, Centre and Montgomery counties, where Democratic officials voted to defy the PA Supreme Court order at the request of Sen. Casey’s lawyers. While the decision of the Democratic officials will be overturned, it is one of many political battles in PA that will be waged over the next few weeks.
In Bucks County, Dave McCormick filed an appeal that questions the Bucks County Board of Elections decision that counted over 400 undated or misdated mail-in ballots. McCormick’s appeal was backed by the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, county election officials report that there are around 60,000 uncounted provisional ballots and around 20,000 uncounted mail-in and absentee ballots.
The Department of State estimates that costs associated with the recount will exceed $1 million in taxpayer funds.
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