GOP intervenes in Pa. Senate race vote-counting lawsuit

By MARC LEVY
Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The national and state Republican parties are taking the side of celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s neck-and-neck GOP primary contest for U.S. Senate and opposing a lawsuit by ex-hedge fund CEO David McCormick. Tuesday is the deadline for counties to report unofficial results to the state. McCormick wants a state court to require counties to count mail-in ballots that lack a required handwritten date on the return envelope. The Republican National Committee’s chief counsel, Matt Raymer, says “changing the rules when ballots are already being counted harms the integrity of our elections.” Oz has led McCormick in a race close enough to trigger Pennsylvania’s automatic recount law.