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Department of State requires all Pa. counties to count undated ballots

The Department of State issued new guidance for counties to count undated ballots and ballots with an incorrect date.

LEBANON, Pa. — The Pa. Department of State has issued guidance for counties to count undated mail-in ballots and any mail-in ballots with an incorrect date from last week's primary election.

The new guidance comes after a federal court appeals decision, that now allows these ballots to count.

In response, Republican Candidate David McCormick and his campaign team filed a lawsuit against the state to ensure that all counties will abide by the new federal ruling.

His chief legal counsel Chuck Cooper says that a voter's handwritten date is meaningless because all ballots are time stamped by the County Boards of Elections on receipt.

For Sean Drasher, there were only a few undated ballots in Lebanon County, he said.

"It really didn't have a big impact, it felt like it was going to be bigger but when we stripped down the numbers it ended up being seven Democrat, four Republican ballots and that's it," he said.

However, McCormick's team believes every Republican vote needs to count.

His campaign spokesperson Jess Szymanski releasing a statement saying, "Once we have counted all Republican votes received on time, we will unite behind a strong GOP nominee to defeat socialist John Fetterman in the fall. All republicans should be focused on that goal."

Meanwhile Dr. Mehmet Oz's campaign team released a statement on Twitter in response to the lawsuit saying that McCormick's legal team is following the Democrats playbook and it could have harmful consequences for elections in Pennsylvania.

Locally however, Drasher says counting the undated ballots is the right thing to do.

"I'm glad they're going in the direction that they are, it seems like the right thing to do for the voter without a doubt," he said.

An official winner of the Pa. Republican Senate race won't be declared until the recount is complete which could take until June 8.

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