Pennsylvania Democratic official apologizes for comments about ignoring election laws

(CNN) — A Democratic election official in Pennsylvania offered an impassioned apology Wednesday for claiming “precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country” to justify counting about 600 faulty ballots in defiance of state Supreme Court rulings.

“The passion in my heart got the best of me and I apologize again for that,” Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said in front of a fiery crowd at a county meeting.

“I made a mistake, and because I am an elected official, I am held to a far higher standard than everybody else. So, to the citizens I serve, I apologize, and I will continue to work hard for you and endeavor to not make such a mistake again.”

Ellis-Marseglia said she received expletive-laden criticism and death threats following her prior comments. She also said other county employees have been flooded with threats.

Throughout her apology, the packed room – which included many supporters of President-elect Donald Trump – heckled Ellis-Marseglia, and some held up signs that said “tyrant.” Others called for her resignation and prosecution and accused her of trying to count illegal votes to help Democrats hold onto a US Senate seat.

Her prior comments about flouting court precedent took off on social media and were promoted widely by Trump allies like Elon Musk.

Ellis-Marseglia and another Democrat on the three-member panel voted to count misdated mail ballots and unsigned provisional ballots, over the objections of the lone GOP commissioner, the county’s attorney, and in defiance of the state’s top court, which ruled before the election that ballots with these deficiencies are invalid.

This is unfolding amid a closely watched recount in the state’s US Senate race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick, who leads by about 17,000 votes. CNN has not made a projection in that race.

“I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws any time they want,” Ellis-Marseglia said at a meeting last week. “So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it. There’s nothing more important than counting votes.”

Ellis-Marseglia and the other Democratic commissioner, Robert Harvie, justified their actions by arguing that they didn’t want to disenfranchise voters, and that the matter would surely be settled by the courts. The 600 or so faulty ballots, they argued, were only missing a date or signature because voters weren’t given clear instructions.

Wednesday, Ellis-Marseglia said her past comment that precedent “doesn’t matter” was a reference to the US Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, drawing groans from the crowd.

In response to a lawsuit from the McCormick campaign, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday ordered counties to abide by its past rulings about the undated ballots. Some of the justices blasted officials from Bucks and other counties for upending the “rule of law.”

Republican officials in battleground states across the country were under a microscope this election season because of fears that they might flout laws around election processes, such as certifying election results.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro also weighed in this week on counties appearing to defy the state’s highest court.

“As we move forward, I want to be clear: any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process,” Shapiro said in a statement on Monday.

Patricia Poprik, chair of the Bucks County Republican Party, on Wednesday said the board’s actions overshadowed the hard work of county election workers.

Poprik has had doubts about the 2020 results and served as a fake elector for Trump. But in the run up to the presidential election this year, Poprik told CNN she had faith in the process after local election officials had been transparent and walked her and others through the entire system for processing and counting ballots.

On Wednesday, she was again critical.

“Something’s wrong with the way we are conducting the elections in this county,” Poprik said. “Now it’s become the laughingstock and the embarrassment.”

CNN’s Danny Freeman contributed to this report.

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