Pennsylvania Democratic official apologizes for comments about ignoring election laws

CNN
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A Pennsylvania Democratic election official offered an impassioned apology Wednesday, arguing that “court precedent no longer matters in this country” to justify counting about 600 defective ballots in defiance of state Supreme Court rulings.

“The passion in my heart got the best of me, and I apologize again for that,” Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said before a fiery crowd at a county meeting.

“I made a mistake and because I am an elected official I am held to a much higher standard than anyone else. So to the citizens I serve, I apologize and I will continue to work hard for you and strive to not to make such a mistake again.”

Ellis-Marseglia said she received criticism and death threats after her earlier comments. She also said other county employees have been inundated with threats.

Throughout her apology, the packed room — which included many supporters of President-elect Donald Trump — booed Ellis-Marseglia, and some held up signs that read “tyrant.” Others called for her resignation and prosecution, accusing her of trying to count illegal votes to help Democrats hold on to a US Senate seat.

Her earlier comments about flouting court precedent took off on social media and were widely promoted by Trump allies such as Elon Musk.

Ellis-Marseglia and another Democrat on the three-member panel voted to count misdated mail-in ballots and unsigned provisional ballots over the objections of the lone GOP commissioner, the county’s attorney, and despite the state Supreme Court ruling before the election that ballots with these defects are invalid.

This is unfolding amid a closely watched recount in the state’s U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick, who leads by about 17,000 votes. CNN has not made a projection in that race.

“I think we all know that court precedent no longer means anything in this country, and people break laws whenever they want,” Ellis-Marseglia said at a meeting last week. “So for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it. There’s nothing more important than counting votes.”

Ellis-Marseglia and the other Democratic commissioner, Robert Harvie, justified their actions by arguing that they did not want to disenfranchise voters and that the case would surely be decided by the courts. The 600 or so defective ballots, they claimed, lacked only a date or signature because voters were not given clear instructions.

On Wednesday, Ellis-Marseglia said her earlier comment that precedent “doesn’t matter” was a reference to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, which drew groans from the crowd.

In response to a lawsuit by the McCormick campaign, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday ordered the counties to abide by its previous rulings on the undated ballots. Some of the judges blasted officials from Bucks and other counties for upholding the “rule of law.”

Republican officials in battleground states across the country were under a microscope this election season because of fears they could flout laws surrounding election processes, such as certification of election results.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro also this week weighed in on counties that appear to be defying the state’s highest court.

“As we move forward, I want to be clear: any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or don’t matter is irresponsible and damages faith in our election process,” Shapiro said in a statement Monday.

Patricia Poprik, chairwoman of the Bucks County Republican Party, said Wednesday that the board’s actions overshadowed the hard work of county election workers.

Poprik has cast doubt on the 2020 results and acted as a fake voter for Trump. But in the run-up to this year’s presidential election, Poprik told CNN she had confidence in the process after local election officials were transparent and walked her and others through the entire process of processing and counting ballots.

On Wednesday, she was critical again.

“There is something wrong with the way we conduct elections in this county,” Poprik said. “Now it has become a laughing stock and an embarrassment.”

CNN’s Danny Freeman contributed to this report.