By Gordon Plate
Jim Brewster was reelected in the 45th Pennsylvania Senate District, winning the election by 69 votes. The challenger, Nicole Ziccarelli, opposed the seating of Brewster on the grounds that different counties applied different standards to the mail-in votes Allegheny County counted ballots missing a date on the outer envelope, while Westmoreland County did not count ballots that were missing a date.
Apparently, the commonwealth’s directions on how to fill out the Pennsylvania mail-in ballot are being misinterpreted by different counties. Researching official websites did not help clear up the matter for this writer, as one did not mention recording the date, while another did.
Updated: 5:17 PM EST Jan 12, 2021 A federal judge has upheld the election win of a Democratic state senator from western Pennsylvania. Incumbent Sen. Jim Brewster of Allegheny County won reelection in the 45th Senate District by 69 votes, but his Republican opponent challenged the results.U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan rejected the argument by Nicole Ziccarelli that Allegheny County was not justified in counting 311 mail-in ballots without a handwritten date. The county’s decision had been upheld by the state Supreme Court.Tuesday s ruling came a week after a fight broke out on the floor of the Senate when Republican leaders refused to seat Brewster.Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman said Brewster will be sworn in Wednesday morning.Corman released the following statement:“In his decision today, Judge Ranjan further clarified the proper handling of undated ballots and we will seat Jim Brewster as the Senator for the 45th Pennsylvania Senate District at 11a
Democrat Jim Brewster will be sworn in to represent state Senate District 45 on Wednesday morning, a week later than his peers and one day after a federal