Democrat's "Count 'till You Win" Cheat Didn't Work in PA

 

Ari Fleischer, "Pennsylvania Almost Saw a Stolen Election"

In the Pennsylvania Senate race, Democrats claimed they wanted to “count every vote.” What they really wanted was to count illegal votes in Democratic counties. With a 15,115-vote margin, Republican Dave McCormick defeated an organized effort by national Democrats to reverse his win over Sen. Bob Casey. If Mr. McCormick’s lead had been smaller, Democrats would still be trying to cook up ways to flip this election.

Under the Pennsylvania election code, ballots that lack a secrecy envelope, are unsigned, or are cast by an unregistered person are not to be counted. Any attempt to make them count is an attempt to break the law. The Democrats’ Pennsylvania playbook should be a warning to everyone who cares about accurate, lawful elections.

In Bucks County, the Democrat-run Board of Elections voted 2-1 along party lines to count mail-in ballots that weren’t dated or were incorrectly dated. Mr. McCormick sued and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Bucks County board’s decision on the merits. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro didn’t object as the board nullified state law, speaking out weakly only after the high court ruled.

In Philadelphia, the Board of Elections rejected 2,073 provisional ballots because they lacked a secrecy envelope and required voter signatures. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Casey campaign wanted to count these votes in an overwhelmingly Democratic city, and they appealed. Fortunately, a judge upheld the rejection of illegal ballots.

In Montgomery County, the Democrat-run Board of Elections rejected nearly 200 ballots lacking a required secrecy envelope. The DSCC and Casey campaign dropped their appeal only when Mr. Casey conceded. The Montgomery board also voted to count hundreds of undated or incorrectly dated ballots. As in Bucks County, the state Supreme Court put an end to that.

In Dauphin County, of which Harrisburg is the seat, the Democrat-run Board of Elections rejected 96 ballots because they lacked required secrecy envelopes and voter signatures. The DSCC and Casey campaign dropped their appeal only after Mr. Casey’s concession. In Luzerne County, the Casey campaign asked the Board of Elections to approve about 500 disputed ballots cast by people who weren’t registered to vote in the county. The election board allowed a small number to be counted but rejected most of these votes.

The McCormick recount team, along with the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, mobilized to defeat these efforts. In all 67 counties, the campaign deployed well-trained lawyers to fight tooth and nail. They were vigilant, making certain there would be no mischief. The McCormick campaign shined a light on many of the Democratic tactics, regularly informing the media of what the Democrats were doing, making certain Democrats could slip nothing through without public scrutiny.

But what would have happened if the Casey appeals continued? What would have happened if friendly judges ruled that illegal votes were suddenly legal? That’s the formula the Democrats employ in close races.

In football, when the clock runs out, the game is over. Everyone knows the score—and the rules. In politics, when the election is over, Democrats demand more time be put on the clock. Sometimes they argue that Republican touchdowns shouldn’t count. Sometimes they demand that Democrats be awarded extra points. All it takes is a close score and a friendly commissioner or judge, and the call on the field can be reversed.

Mr. McCormick won, but Democrats aren’t done. They’ll take their Pennsylvania tactics to other states.

It’s time for the Pennsylvania Legislature and Gov. Shapiro to show leadership and enforce their laws. It’s time for Congress to pass a nationwide voter-identification requirement. Law-abiding citizens everywhere should know what’s in the Democratic recount playbook and be prepared to fight it.