One Pennsylvania Democrat is trying to do some damage control after her remarks during the contentious, expensive, and unnecessary recount in the state’s U.S. Senate race were taken out of context. There’s nothing nuanced about wanting to violate the law, lady. That’s what Bucks County commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia got caught saying when she and Bob Harvie, another Democrat, voted to count suspect ballots. They said the quiet part out loud.
🔴 JUST IN: Bucks County election official who openly defied a court order on illegal ballot counting has backtracked.
— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) November 19, 2024
“I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused.”pic.twitter.com/pEYJMYltqA
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that counting illegal votes, i.e., those without proper signatures, dates, and improper residency, must be disregarded. Marseglia said this was the outcome she wanted when she declared her defiance of the law. It forced Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to weigh in, but Marseglia’s apology was crap, and someone should tell her where she can shove it. Voters aren’t idiots, lady—something your party discovered the hard way (via Philadelphia Inquirer)
Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, blamed a “misinterpretation of [an] inartfully worded statement on my part” after her comment drew rebukes from President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign and the state’s Democratic governor, among a host of others, after Bucks County was one of several that defied a guidance from the state’s high court and voted to accept undated mail ballots.
“I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused,” Ellis-Marseglia said about her comments.
Last week, Ellis-Marseglia contended the court precedent no longer matters in this country in justifying her vote to include ballots deemed deficient by the state Supreme Court
“People violate laws any time they want,” she added. “So, for me, if I violate this law it’s because I want a court to pay attention. There’s nothing more important than counting votes.”
[…]
But she has also received some reprimand from Democrats, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who broke his silence on the recount to admonish counties for disregarding the high court’s rulings.
“Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process,” Shapiro said. “It is critical for counties and officials in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions.”
Bucks County is where elections are decided. Donald Trump won here for the first time since Bush 41, securing his win in the Keystone State on election night. Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick—no, I apologize, Senator-elect McCormick—didn’t win Bucks but did well enough to clinch the win.
Sorry, Ms. Marseglia, but you broke the law, and the Trump Justice Department should indict and jail you for trying to steal an election.
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