Adjudicate every Vote! - PA Senate election continues

"Adjudicate every vote" perhaps should be the motto of Pennsylvanian democracy rather than "Count every vote." At least this is what the news outlet Spotlight PA and the court arguments from the Bob Casey Jr. campaign have indicated. And if that adjudication does not go in favor of the Democrat, well, then include it in the tally for your side anyway. Thus declares the now notable Democrat Commissioners Diane Marseglia and Bob Harvie.

As previously feared, the Pennsylvania US Senate race has been successfully pushed into a recount and a bit of chaos. There is now a real possibility of Bob Casey Jr.'s campaign overturning the election result that had declared Dave McCormick the winner. So let's review the developments.

The Recount is On

While other elections have been decided and Trump is discussing his cabinet, the PA election month has at least a couple of weeks to go. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a solid article here, laying out some specifics — including the fact that the election may not be completed until Nov 27. Casey's obstinance with outside help has now paid dividends. A day or so after the election, it appeared a mostly sure thing that McCormick would win, with most of the reported outstanding voters in red counties. McCormick was up about 30-40,000 votes at that time and above the threshold for a recount.

However, Casey's campaign got a boost when sitting PA Secretary of State Al Schmidt (pictured) ordered a 67-county recount. Schmidt was appointed by Josh Shapiro and is a former City Commissioner of Philadelphia. It is also worth noting that Al Schmidt had the honor of personally receiving the Presidential Citizens Medal for his role in the 2020 election. Schmidt was praised for his "courage and selflessness" in the 2020 election by opposing Republican efforts to disqualify large numbers of mail-in-votes that failed to meet legal standards — in other words, ballots that were either not signed, dated, in the proper envelope or all of the above. Gov. Shapiro was so impressed by Schmidt's efforts that he appointed Schmidt to head "Pennsylvania's Election Threats Task Force." Shapiro's new organization exists to combat election misinformation in a collaborative effort with the federal government (plus whatever else it does). So congratulations to Al Schmidt on a successful career.

Shifting Vote Totals (or should I say ballot totals)

McCormick's lead is shrinking. With the addition of ballots after the counties were due to provide unofficial results, Casey has closed the gap to ~27,000. It's rare for recounts to flip election results. However, looking at the numbers that Democrat lawyers want to include reveals math that could do just that. The PG reported that the McCormick campaign was mocked by the Casey campaign even in court. McCormick is allegedly spreading "disinformation" and aiming to "disenfranchise" voters. If the Casey lawyers and Schmidt have their way, an additional 20,000 mail-in-votes and 80,000 provisional ballots will now be included in the official results. Assuming those go to Casey, the election result will be overturned if it passes challenges.

One might say: "Hey, post-2020, didn't the PA Supreme Court issue a ruling on election ballots?" Yes, that person would be right. This ruling was not provided in time to make any difference in the 2020 controversy, but it was a step in the right direction toward order in PA elections that was supposed to be a guideline used for future elections. But will it be used? That's seriously an open question on the rule of law. When push comes to shove, in a hotly contested election involving an established PA Democrat figure, will the Democrat-controlled court rule in a consistent manner if it comes to this?

I should also highlight the controversy over the inclusion of provisional ballots. Although there are legitimate reasons for provisional ballots (such as broken equipment), they are subject to abuse and frequently get contested. A couple reasons why provisional ballots can be considered dubious: (1) the voter is not proven eligible; (2) the ballot comes from an unregistered source. Provisional ballots play a role in this recount.

The Shadow of 2020 and the lack of election integrity

I'd like to address the elephant in the room: people's uneasiness with discussing voting integrity and the bleep show that resulted from the 2020 election. If you want to make people shift in their chairs and look away, then bring up this topic. I find it unfortunate that the waters have been muddied on this subject. Clearly, in Pennsylvania (and perhaps other locations), there needs to be a consistent voting system with established rules that are followed and, if not followed, enforced by impartial courts. For people to have confidence in the system, we need to have clear election integrity laws that press out any funny business or legal wrangling. In addition, we need to have such uncontroversial results tabulated in official results in a timely manner — preferably on the night of the election. We should be having Election Day, not election months. Both accuracy and punctuality are required. This current system is unacceptable.

The goal I state here is independent of Trump or the 2020 election. It's a system thing, not a person thing. For example, we have this episode affecting Dave McCormick. Others will follow if this issue goes unresolved. However, the movement to shore up election integrity undoubtedly suffered a blow in the wake of 2020. To even bring up this issue might get one labeled a "denier," or some tin-foil-hat "kook." This is another reason why it was so regrettable for certain people and entities to make unsubstantiated claims and promise to unleash Greek mythological characters... or something. These actions and statements made it too easy to smear genuine efforts of election system reforms.

Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud and On Camera

I believe it's hit mainstream conservative news now, so by the time I post this you will likely have seen it already. You didn't need James O'Keefe wearing glasses and going on a date with a dude to get this scoop. The statement by Bucks County Democrat Commissioner is simply astounding. (You're not supposed to say that aloud.) Instead, you're supposed to use euphemisms or slogans, like: "Until every voice is heard," or "Let the process play out" or "Our sacred democracy; count every vote!" or some such thing. Don't essentially say, "F- the law, give me what I want now, include illegal ballots."

Also, in our language, I think we should use the term 'ballot' and not 'vote." This distinguishes things. Not every ballot is from an actual voter. But let's look at what was exactly said by now infamous Democrat Commissioners Diane Marseglia and Bob Harvie.

Diane Marseglia, the Commission Board Chair, said on camera on a panel in an official capacity the following:

"I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter in this country and people violate laws any time they want.”

Thanks for making that so clear to us and the world. It's of no consequence what any law, court, precedent, or public opinion says... we will just simply stuff the ballot box and do what we please. I appreciate the mask-off moment. It saves a lot of work on my part trying to convince people of the need for election integrity now.

Oh, but wait, wait, there's more, as Billy Mays used to say. The commission goes on to say that they counted these noncompliant mail-in-ballots and provisional ballots because that's what they did in 2020. So she does believe in some precedent, after all. Perhaps I misjudged her. Perhaps there's even time yet for her to receive a Citizens Medal from Uncle Joe. After all, she should be a shoo-in for an award with what it says on her website: "With a reputation for demanding responsible government spending, Commissioner Marseglia has advocated for greater transparency and ethics." Well, she definitely got my vote on the 'transparency' part.

Make it National Headlines - Draw Attention

I'd like this story to break out of the niche of conservative media and become a national pop culture story. This Diane Marseglia, who clearly shows herself to be emotionally unbalanced in the recorded hearing has just gifted the public the material for a contemporary viral social media post. However, the goal will not be to get "likes", but instead to inform the public and get support for system reforms, including more election integrity laws. It's also kinda funny, let's face it.

Dave McCormick's team should use this in court the next time they are mocked by Bob Casey's lawyers. Let's help McCormick secure the win prior to Nov 27 when Al Schmidt decides he might want to get around to finally adjudicating the vote by making it official.