County election offices wait for guidance regarding “undated ballots”

Nicholas Vercilla, Beaver County Times
·2 min read
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County election offices are waiting for guidance on whether to count mail-in ballots that were delivered on time, but had no dates written on them, called "undated ballots," for the recount of the state Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
County election offices are waiting for guidance on whether to count mail-in ballots that were delivered on time, but had no dates written on them, called "undated ballots," for the recount of the state Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

It is said in any election, no matter how big or small, that every vote counts.

However, should certain ballots that were previously deemed invalid be counted after all?

That is the question concerning election offices and bureaus across the commonwealth in the wake of a statewide recount for the Republican primary race for U.S. Senate.

The race has triggered, based on current Pennsylvania election laws, an automatic recount, as the top two vote-getters — Dr. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick, were separated by less than one half of one percent.

Oz received 419,365 votes, or 31.21% of the vote, while McCormick received 418,463 votes, or 31.14% of the vote.

Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Leigh M. Chapman said the recount for all 67 counties could begin as early as May 27, but must begin by no later than June 1.

The recount must be completed by noon June 7, with the deadline to submit the results to the Department of State by noon June 8.

However, in the wake of this recount, McCormick and his campaign staff have filed a lawsuit in order to make the counties count mail-in ballots that were delivered on time, but had no date written on them, which are called “undated” ballots.

Under current election laws, these ballots are not to be counted, leading McCormick to ask the courts to have these ballots counted.

In response, Oz and his campaign team have asked the courts to not have those ballots counted.

When reached for comment, Lawrence County Elections Director Tim Germani said he is waiting for guidance from the state on whether to count them for the recount.

However, it wouldn’t matter for Lawrence County as Germani said there were three undated ballots, all Democrat.

The Democratic primary for Senate was won decisively for current Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

More: 2022 Pennsylvania Election Results

In Beaver County, county Solicitor Garen Fedeles said there were five undated ballots, all Republican.

According to unofficial election results, McCormick had 6,422 votes, with Oz at 5,668 votes in Beaver County.

Nicholas Vercilla is a staff reporter for the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at nvercilla@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: County election offices wait for guidance regarding “undated ballots”