Update On Dr. Oz and David McCormick’s Court Case Regarding Ballots

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court was busy on Tuesday hearing arguments from attorneys representing Dr. Oz and Dave McCormick.

Oz and McCormick are in court because McCormick’s campaign is fighting for un-dated ballots to be counted during the recount process whereas Dr. Oz’s team doesn’t want un-dated ballots to be counted.

The Court ruled against McCormick and will not count un-dated ballots during the recount process.

As of right now, Oz holds a slim lead of fewer than 1,000 votes.

PA Supreme Court not accepting candidate McCormick's request for it to consider the question of counting undated ballots from the primary election. https://t.co/X7jQVQzTVi

— Justin Riemer (@Justin_Riemer) May 31, 2022

The Daily Wire had these details to share:

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court heard arguments Tuesday from lawyers representing Dr. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick — who disagree on whether the Republican Senate primary election recount process should consider undated mail-in ballots.

Oz, a television host and surgeon, currently leads McCormick, a former Bush official and hedge fund executive, by fewer than 1,000 votes. The Pennsylvania Department of State ordered a recount in accordance with commonwealth law, which mandates recounts when candidates finish within 0.5% of one another.

McCormick sued in Pennsylvania court after the primary race to make county election boards tally undated mail-in ballots. Both candidates’ legal teams presented their cases before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.

“McCormick, citing a recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, says the state’s current practice of rejecting them is arbitrary and done under a rule that serves no legitimate purpose in determining the eligibility of the voter,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. “McCormick has generally outperformed Oz in mail voting and he hopes that counting the roughly 860 undated mail ballots statewide can help him make up his deficit.”

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has sided with the Oz campaign’s position in similar past cases, according to the outlet. “But it will be interesting to see whether the Third Circuit’s opposite stance on the issue influences its thinking going forward.”

Some county boards — including those overseeing the Lancaster and Cumberland county elections — plan to start tallying by Tuesday, according to WGAL. All counties begin counting by Wednesday, finish their recounts by Tuesday, June 7, and report their results to the state by the next day.

Folks it appears Dave McCormick is finally finished in Pennsylvania. @DrOz will be declared the winner. https://t.co/FVFaMVBVWL

— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) May 31, 2022

Fox News had more on the story:

Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick’s campaign announced on Tuesday that the candidate is asking for a hand recount in a dozen Pennsylvania counties in the May 17 GOP Senate primary vote as the margin between McCormick and Mehmet Oz remains razor-thin.

“It’s been two weeks since Election Day, and we still don’t have a full vote count,” a senior McCormick campaign official told reporters.

McCormick trails rival Dr. Mehmet Oz by just over 900 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast. Oz’s extremely narrow lead is well within the 0.5% threshold for an automatic recount of the results, which was ordered by state officials last week. Some counties have already begun the mandated machine recount, and all must start no later than Wednesday. Counties must conclude their tabulations by noon on June 7 and submit their recount results by noon the next day.

A whirlwind day in the courts for the #PASen GOP primary that opened with a state court seemingly open to McCormick's arguments to count undated ballots, and closed with Alito slamming that door shut, at least for now. More from me and @hollyotterbein https://t.co/crZ3JArqva

— Zach Montellaro (@ZachMontellaro) May 31, 2022