Fed. Judge Rejects GOP Challenge To Pa. Senator s Election By By
James Boyle Law360 (January 12, 2021, 2:58 PM EST) A Democratic Pennsylvania state senator blocked from his swearing-in ceremony last week by the Republican majority was lawfully reelected in the November election, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
Federal District Judge Nicholas Ranjan in Pennsylvania s Western District sided with the Allegheny County Board of Elections that the county s undated mail-in ballots are valid and should be counted. The decision upholds an opinion from the state Supreme Court and keeps intact Sen. Jim Brewster s slim victory over challenger Nicole Ziccarelli in the 45th Senate District. Senate Pro Tem Jake Corman tweeted Tuesday afternoon that Brewster would be sworn-in Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Pa. GOP Cite Lawsuit To Block State Senator s Swearing-In By By
Matthew Santoni Law360 (January 5, 2021, 6:22 PM EST) Republicans in Pennsylvania s state Senate temporarily evicted the lieutenant governor and refused to seat a Democrat from a suburban Pittsburgh district during the Legislature s first session of the year Tuesday because his opponent was still pursuing a federal lawsuit challenging his 69-vote win.
After a party-line vote in the Republican-majority Senate removed Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman from presiding over Tuesday s swearing-in ceremonies, Senate President Pro Tem Jake Corman ordered that incumbent state Sen. Jim Brewster be excluded from the reading of official votes and the swearing-in because his opponent, Nicole Ziccarelli, had a pending federal lawsuit challenging state court rulings that allowed the counting of ballots whose outer envelopes lacked handwritten dates or addresses.