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The justices didn’t mince words about it, either. Clearly annoyed by the public declaration by Bucks County Commissioners Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously and quickly ordered all counties to abide by previous court rulings excluding undated or misdated ballots from the counting process.
And just in case Ellis-Marseglia and Bob Casey are too obtuse to read fine print, the justices bolded the point in their per curiam decision:
The Court hereby ASSUMES its King’s Bench authority over the instant Application, see 42 Pa.C.S. § 502, only to DIRECT that all Respondents, including the Boards of Elections in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County, SHALL COMPLY with the prior rulings of this Court in which we have clarified that mail-in and absentee ballots that fail to comply with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Election Code, see 25 P.S. §§ 3146.6(a), 3150.16(a), SHALL NOT BE COUNTED for purposes of the election held on November 5, 2024. .
The Application is DENIED in all other respects. In particular, we deny the request to exercise plenary jurisdiction over related matters that have been commenced in various courts of common pleas. This order shall be deemed authoritative and controlling in all such matters and as to all county election board members.
Gee, what does SHALL NOT BE COUNTED mean? Do you think Casey and Marc Elias can figure that out?
The ruling itself is unanimous, although three of the seven justices dissented on whether the case was properly ripe. They object to the invocation of the “King’s Bench jurisdiction” at this point rather than allowing the challenges to rise separately through the lower courts first. “I have far more confidence in our courts of common pleas”, wrote Justice Christine Donohue, “to apply the law than do some of my colleagues.
