Pennsylvania Senate Candidate McCormick Seeks Court Ruling on Ballots

In Pennsylvania, U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick, connected to the New York Stock Exchange under the NYSE:MKC ticker, has filed a legal motion in Philadelphia to request permission for mass challenges to provisional ballots. The request was made on Thursday through a court filing in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The counting of an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 provisional ballots was scheduled to begin today.

McCormick is currently ahead of incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Casey by approximately 34,600 votes as 98% of the expected statewide votes have been counted. Edison Research reflects this margin, and The Associated Press predicts that McCormick will win the seat. This victory would contribute to the Republican majority in the Senate next year.

If the final result falls within a half percentage point margin—which closely corresponds to McCormick's current lead before the counting of provisional ballots—an automatic recount will be triggered. Provisional ballots are used in cases of uncertainty regarding a voter's eligibility and are reviewed after the election.

The McCormick campaign has expressed concerns about the capacity of Republican officials to challenge each provisional ballot individually due to the high volume. The court filing mentions fears that potentially ineligible ballots could be counted, affecting the fairness and integrity of the election.

Additionally, McCormick has requested that provisional ballots used by voters whose ballots were rejected due to issues such as the absence of inner privacy envelopes for mail-in or absentee ballots be kept separate until the U.S. Supreme Court makes a ruling on the matter. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that these provisional ballots should be counted, but the Republican Party has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has yet to make a decision on the case.