Chair of the Bucks County Board of Elections and county commissioner Bob Harvie issued a statement this week addressing recent controversy surrounding the counting of mail-in and provisional ballots in the Nov. 5 General Election. Harvie said the board has been criticized for allegedly attempting to influence the election’s outcome by choosing which ballots to count.
Harvie strongly refuted those claims, stating that the board’s decisions were consistent with its longstanding practice of protecting the rights of registered voters.
“The decisions the Board rendered last week are consistent with its longstanding practice of fighting to protect the rights of registered Bucks County voters who made some immaterial mistake on their ballot envelopes or, even worse, suffered mistakes made by election workers, but who nonetheless cast ballots in an effort to have their vote count,” Harvie said. “Whatever candidates those ballots do or do not lift to victory is up to the voters, and is not the concern of the Board.”
Harvie called claims of misconduct made against the board “baseless” and “unequivocally nonsense.”
He noted that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that undated and misdated mail-in ballots cast in the election will not be counted, and said the board has complied with the court’s order.
Harvie added that the issue of undated and misdated ballots is still being litigated in state and federal courts, and expressed confidence that the cases will be decided on their merits.
He also condemned threats and harassment he said has been directed at board members, their families and county staff.
“Unfortunately, because this story has been picked up by national media outlets and has gone viral on social media, members of this Board, their families and County staff have been subject to threats and harassment at levels unprecedented under this Administration,” Harvie said. “We condemn these pathetic actions in no uncertain terms and have turned over these calls and messages to law enforcement. There is no place for that type of behavior in a democracy.”
The board also shared unofficial tallies of votes in the U.S. Senate race from the mail-in and provisional ballots challenged in this election, which have been shared with both political parties. The unofficial tallies show that 225 mail-in ballots were cast for Casey, while 182 were cast for McCormick. Provisional ballots show 101 votes cast for Casey, with 106 votes cast for McCormick.
“These numbers make clear, as has been known by both parties, that these votes were never going to alter the outcome of this race,” Harvie said.
This local news story was reported with generative AI assistance.
