Bucks County chair claims comment about violating laws ‘any time they want’ was misinterpreted

Diane Ellis-Marseglia tried to walk back her previous comments on Monday, suggesting that she did not mean she supported breaking the law or violating the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She claimed that her words were misinterpreted, misconstrued, and taken out of context, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. She also apologized for her comments and the “confusion it caused.”

“I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused,” Ellis-Marseglia, Democrat in Bucks County, said, taking a different, more conciliatory tone than the one she had last week. 

Last Thursday, Ellis-Marseglia was one of two Bucks County Commissioners who voted to count ballots that did not have the necessary signatures to be considered valid. This decision directly violated what Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled earlier this year. The controversy was propelled into the national spotlight over the close race between Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Republican candidate Dave McCormick.  

“I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws anytime they want,” Ellis-Marseglia said last week. “So for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it.”

Many Republicans and Democrats criticized her words, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who rebuked the Democrats on the county board who disobeyed the court’s ruling.

“Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process,” Shapiro said. “It is critical for counties and officials in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions.”

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Moreover, due to the controversy caused by the Democrats on the Bucks County Board, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court repeated its position and added a ruling not to count any ballot that did not meet the necessary requirements, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. And, despite her apology on Monday, Ellis-Marseglia claimed the ruling was helpful because it gave her clarity on the legal issues surrounding the ballots. 

“This is exactly what I was hoping for, for the court to weigh in and give us clarity,” Ellis-Marseglia said. “We were under a stay, and now we have full clarity.”