Fetterman campaign sues Pennsylvania to count undated, misdated ballots

Election forecaster RCP currently shows Oz with a 0.1% lead and forecasts a Republican win in the state.

Published: November 7, 2022 8:02pm

Updated: November 7, 2022 8:32pm

Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman's campaign is suing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to count undated and misdated absentee ballots.

The campaign asked a federal judge on Monday to require that election officials count the erroneous or incomplete ballots in the election after the state Supreme Court ruled that the commonwealth could not count such ballots last week.

The Democratic House and Senate campaign arms also joined the suit, which was filed in Pittsburgh, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"The date [requirement] imposes unnecessary hurdles that eligible Pennsylvanians must clear to exercise their most fundamental right, resulting in otherwise valid votes being arbitrarily rejected without any reciprocal benefit to the Commonwealth," the complaint reads.

Democrats disproportionately use mail-in ballots and thousands, if not more, will likely have disqualifying dating errors under state law. In turn, this could spell the loss of a considerable amount of net votes for Fetterman in the hotly contested Senate race.

Though Fetterman once maintained an impressive lead over his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Democrat's sluggish performance on the debate stage compounded existing concerns about his fitness for office following a major stroke he suffered earlier this year. Post-debate polls have consistently showed Oz with narrow leads.

Election forecaster RCP currently shows Oz with a 0.1% lead and forecasts a Republican win in the state.

With no hearing yet set for the suit, the final result of the Senate race may not become clear for weeks following Tuesday's election. 

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