Scores of irate Pennsylvanians showed up to a Wednesday meeting of the Bucks County government to slam the Democrat commissioners who endorsed illegally counting deficient ballots last week.
Wednesday’s meeting of the Bucks County Commissioners was the first since Democrat Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said last Thursday that she did not care about existing legal precedent when she moved to count deficient ballots, contravening the state supreme court’s ruling on the issue.
Citizen after citizen approached the podium on Wednesday to excoriate Ellis-Marseglia and fellow Democrat Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie for supporting the effort to count deficient ballots, calling on them to resign for openly flouting state law amid defeated Democrat Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey’s effort to overturn the results of his race during a recount.
A screen shows the transcript of remarks made by an angered citizen during the Bucks County Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, November 20, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Mariann Davies)
Officials in Centre, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties made similar efforts to count deficient ballots, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The state supreme court affirmed ahead of Election Day that requiring mail ballots to have handwritten dates is constitutional, and the court ruled that incorrectly-dated mail ballots cannot be counted on Monday, dealing a blow to Democrats dissatisfied with the results of the 2024 elections.
Ellis-Marseglia explained and apologized for her comments that “precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country” because “people violate laws anytime they want” at the beginning of the meeting, making reference to the fall of Roe v. Wade in her apology.
Some who attended the meeting found her apology convincing, but most others in the room did not.
“I tried to listen to your apology, because everybody deserves a second chance. And you almost had me, until you arrogantly rolled your eyes numerous times,” said Mike Foti, a resident of Buckingham Township. “It’s not hitting with sincerity here, lady.”
Other attendees took aim at the Democrat commissioners for undermining the public’s trust with their words and actions.
“How can the American people believe in the integrity of this election when these commissioners promised to disregard and break the law? The answer is, they cannot,” said Christine Figueroa, a resident of Buckingham Township. “These are elected officials who openly and blatantly admitted to disobeying the law. How can we ever have faith in their ability to uphold the law again? The answer is, we cannot, and they must resign immediately.”
Scott Presler, a conservative activist who helped deliver Pennsylvania for Trump and other Republicans through his efforts to register and mobilize voters, also attended the meeting. During his comments, he said he would make an effort to defeat Ellis-Marseglia at the polls when she next faces the voters. While footage of the event does not show it, Ellis-Marseglia appears to have fired back at Presler that he can “have at it.”
Others, like Bucks County GOP Chairwoman Pat Poprik, ripped Ellis-Marseglia and Harvie for bringing negative attention to Bucks County by deciding to blatantly disregard the law.
“This past week, you violated your oaths of office knowingly and willfully, and against the advice of counsel, and allowed for the counting of illegal ballots,” Joe Linus, a seasoned elections judge residing in Washington Crossing, said in his comments directed at Ellis-Marseglia and Harvie. “And then you both voted to count illegal ballots … If, as a judge, I allowed ineligible voters to cast votes at the polls on election day, I would be promptly removed from office and prosecuted by the district attorney. The two of you make a mockery of our election process, and take away the faith that people have in the process. You two should be removed from office.”
Citizens sit in attendance at a Bucks County government meeting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, November 20, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Mariann Davies)
Other attendees went as far as to call for the prosecution of the Democrat commissioners for openly violating the law. Two outraged citizens even held up placards reading “TYRANT” in large black text throughout the meeting.
“Robert, you need to show some more respect for members of the public, because you’re a public servant and you work for us. I watch these commissioner meetings and the way you sometimes respond to people who don’t agree with you comes off as very smug and condescending,” said John Zappe of Buckingham Township. “What is there to be proud of? I don’t understand. You guys are doing an awful job and should just resign at this point. This guy over here has been holding a sign up, and that’s exactly what you guys are: you guys are a bunch of corrupt tyrants.”
After the public comment period of the meeting concluded, attendees heckled Ellis-Marseglia and Harvie to resign. Ellis-Marseglia repeatedly slammed her gavel before the commissioners decided to adjourn the meeting as the jeers rang out.
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