Democratic Pennsylvania election official apologizes for controversial comments as Senate recount begins

A Democratic Pennsylvania election official apologized on Wednesday for controversially claiming that court precedent "doesn't matter in this country," as the recount in the U.S. Senate race begins in the state. 

In a meeting last week, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, voted to count provisional ballots that were missing one of two required voter signatures. She did so after being told by a county attorney that the state Supreme Court had already ruled that such ballots cannot be counted.

"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 in a clip that has since gone viral on social media. "So for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it. There is nothing more important than counting votes."

Facing a packed meeting before an outraged public, Ellis-Marseglia read out her apology on Wednesday – in between jeering and calls for her to resign. 

"Last Thursday, when I spoke at the meeting that you’re all here about, the passion in my heart got the best of me, and I apologize again for that," she said. "That was a hearing, and we were talking about provisional ballots. We were specifically talking about the fact that there were certain provisional ballots where a judge of elections did not sign and did not make sure that a voter signed on the outside envelope. To me, it was frustrating and unconscionable that we would have to take away somebody’s vote not because they made a mistake, but because an employee, one of our members … one of the judges of elections didn’t know what to do or forgot or made a mistake. That issue that I spoke on has now gone viral from my comments. It was genuinely not the best words. I would do it all again. I feel terrible about it. I should have been more clear, please, I will be more clear in the future." 

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Ellis-Marseglia claimed her reference to court precedent related to the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v Wade – an assertion that drew loud groans from the crowd. 

"I remind you all that we all say things that are out of turn, we all made mistakes. I made a mistake! And because I am an election official, I am held to a far higher standard than everybody else," she said. "When I inartfully spoke and used the word precedent when I was talking about provisional ballots, I was referring to the United States Supreme Court, and the precedent that has been lost on many issues including Roe v. Wade."

The audience erupted in boos and groans, as Ellis-Marseglia pounded her gavel and responded, "If you would just bear with me for one more minute!" 

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"Unfortunately, I took my frustration out on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, many of whom are friends of mine who I respect, and whose decisions are complicated and difficult and important," she said. "We are all going to learn lessons from this new media landscape. And most of all, I am. I am a small fish in this big pond. I do not have a megaphone on Twitter or CNN, or I am not a secretary of state, I don't run a presidential campaign. This is the only opportunity that I have had to set the record straight." 

Ellis-Marseglia said she received messages from hundreds of people, and "all of them involved horrible, horrible expletives," and many of them included death threats against her and her family. 

The initial clip of the comment by Ellis-Marseglia garnered widespread condemnation by conservatives on social media. 

"This is a BLATANT violation of the law and we intend to fight it every step of the way," Lara Trump, President-elect Trump’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee, wrote in a post on X that received 1.2 million views.

Pennsylvania's state Supreme Court on Monday weighed in on a flashpoint amid ongoing vote counting in the U.S. Senate election between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick, ordering counties not to count mail-in ballots that lack a correct handwritten date on the return envelope. Casey has refused to concede the race, which The Associated Press called in favor of McCormick earlier this month.

In a statement, Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said a lack of legal clarity had surrounded the ballots, putting county officials in a position where they were "damned if they did and damned if they didn’t — likely facing legal action no matter which decision they made on counting."

McCormick currently leads by .24% as of Thursday morning, according to Pennsylvania's election results website. A recount is triggered under state law by a margin of .5% or lower. The statewide recount began Wednesday morning. It must conclude by Nov. 26. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.