We’ve told you about the brouhaha in Bucks County, Pa., where Republicans have accused the Democrats of forging absentee ballot applications and the Democrats have accused the GOP, and the local board of elections, of disenfranchising voters.
The fight has centered over absentee ballot applications the Democrats mailed to registered voters in Bucks County. The return envelope, marked “Pennsylvania Voter Assistance Office,” went to a P.O. box owned by the Democratic Party. Hundreds of those applications that were forwarded to the board of elections were thrown out. The Dems maintain that the Republican-dominated board of elections is improperly throwing out applications on technicalities.
Now, we find out that the board — which ruled Friday to sequester absentee ballots at their headquarters instead of sending them to individual precincts for counting — will count the 8,000+ absentee ballots on Wednesday, the day after Election Day.
That may leave the race between Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) and challenger Mike Fitzgerald (R) in limbo a day or more after the election.
Both the Democratic and Republican parties in Pennsylvania tell TPMmuckraker they’re busy preparing for potential legal challenges, depending on what happens today and tomorrow.
The TPM Polltracker Average shows the Fitzpatrick leading Murphy 50.1%-40.6%.
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