Democrats in Pennsylvania admit to counting illegal ballots in close Casey-McCormick Senate race

Democrats in blue Pennsylvania counties have admitted to counting illegal ballots in the Senate race that is headed for a recount.

Republican candidate Dave McCormick was projected as the winner by The Associated Press, but is only leading Democratic incumbent Bob Casey by 29,000 votes.

Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt told reporters that the results of the state's Senate recount, estimated to cost $1 million, will be publicly released on Nov. 27. Schmidt said that the recount was triggered because the unofficial results show the two candidates within a 0.5% margin, according to CBS News.

The state Supreme Court ruled before the election that mail-in ballots that don't have proper dates or signatures would not be included in the official results.

According to Fox News, officials in Bucks County and Montgomery County have ignored the order.

"I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country," Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said, according to the outlet. 

"People violate laws anytime they want. 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," she added, failing to distinguish between legal votes and illegal votes. 

In Montgomery County, Democratic board chair Neil Makhija voted to have the ballots counted so voters wouldn't be "disenfranchised."

The Republican National Committee has filed four lawsuits challenging the counties' decisions to count undated ballots and said they will "fight for as long as necessary" to uphold McCormick's victory.

"Let’s be clear about what’s happening here: Democrats in Pennsylvania are brazenly trying to break the law by attempting to count illegal ballots. They are doing this because they want to steal a senate seat," RNC Chairman Michael Whatley wrote on X.