RNC Sues Key PA County Outside Philly Over Absentee Ballot Counting Procedures
The Republican National Committee filed suit against Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Friday for failing to provide information regarding how it processed and counted absentee ballots in the 2020 general election.
Bucks County, which is just north of Philadelphia, went for Democrat Joe Biden over then-President Donald Trump by approximately 17,300 votes of the 392,000 cast.
By way of comparison, Democrat Hillary Clinton won the county in 2016 by only 2,700 votes, with approximately 331,400 cast.
“The RNC is suing the Bucks County Board of Elections because Pennsylvanians deserve transparent elections,” RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted Monday. “Refusing to share crucial information about how absentee ballots are counted is unacceptable.”
The RNC is suing the Bucks County Board of Elections because Pennsylvanians deserve transparent elections.
Refusing to share crucial information about how absentee ballots are counted is unacceptable. https://t.co/gzI4JiDzmT
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) February 14, 2022
The RNC lawsuit seeks to compel the Bucks County Board of Elections to turn over information the party had previously sought in formal records requests made in October, according to the petition it submitted to Bucks County on Friday.
The RNC requests included “any and all communications from the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Elections, regarding the counting, processing, curing, or rejection of mail-in or absentee ballots for the 2020 General Election.”
In early November, Bucks County refused to turn over the items sought by the RNC. The party appealed to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records later that month. On Jan. 14, the office also blocked the requests, leading the RNC to file its lawsuit.
Breitbart reported that the RNC is seeking information regarding mail-in ballot procedures in Berks, Montgomery, Philadelphia and Allegheny counties as well.
“Party officials say they are prepared to bring similar lawsuits against other counties that resist the production of these records,” according to the outlet.
Extended hours begin Wednesday for Bucks County’s three secure ballot drop boxes! The locations in Levittown, Doylestown and Quakertown are now open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Learn more here: https://t.co/msknnFTBxx pic.twitter.com/j2E5pvGfPR
— Bucks County Government (@BucksCountyGovt) October 21, 2020
The state of Texas filed a lawsuit at the U.S. Supreme Court in December 2020 against Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin, accusing officials in Pennsylvania of breaking multiple laws by allowing absentee ballots to be reviewed and “cured” in key Democrat-controlled counties like Philadelphia and Allegheny, which includes Pittsburgh.
The same opportunity was not afforded statewide, thus violating the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, Texas argued. The Supreme Court dismissed the case, ruling that Texas lacked standing to sue over how Pennsylvania and other states conduct their elections.
The Pennsylvania Department of State determined that approximately 4,216,000 ballots were cast in person in the 2020 general election, while 2,637,000 absentee ballots were submitted for a total of 6,853,000 votes.
The total tally in 2016 was nearly 1 million less at 5,897,200. The number of absentee ballots cast that year was about 266,200, according to Philadelphia-based WHYY.
The Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania Supreme Court allowed drop boxes to be deployed in the Keystone State for the 2020 general election and ruled that absentee ballots did not require signature verification and could arrive up to three days after the election.
NPR reported at the time that these decisions were “likely to help Democrats.”
Absentee ballots played a decisive role in Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania. Trump’s 600,000-vote lead in the state the morning after the election dwindled and eventually disappeared in the following days as absentee votes continued to be counted.
A version of this article originally appeared on Patriot Project.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
