Brewster to be sworn in after court ruling
By Christine Haines
chaines@yourmvi.com
After a week-long delay, Jim Brewster will be sworn in today as the state Senator for the 45th District.
The McKeesport Democrat had his victory in the Nov. 3 election upheld Tuesday by U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan.
Ranjan rejected an argument by Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli that Allegheny County was not justified in counting 311 mail-in ballots without a hand-written date. The county’s decision had been upheld by the state Supreme Court.
Those ballots helped deliver a 69-vote victory to Brewster in a district that also includes a portion of Westmoreland County.
“In sum the correct interpretation of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision on Ms. Ziccarelli’s state court appeal is that the challenged ballots are valid and may be properly counted,” Ranjan wrote in his opinion. “This causes Ms. Ziccarelli’s federal claims to fail on the merits.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre County, had said that if the federal court ruled on the merits of the case, the Senate would abide by the decision and swear in whomever the court said was the winner.
“In his decision today, U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan further clarified the proper handling of undated ballots and we will seat Jim Brewster as the Senator for the 45th #PASenate District at 11am tomorrow morning,” Corman tweeted Tuesday.
The result doesn’t change the balance of power in the Senate, where Republicans hold 28 of the chamber’s 50 seats.
“While I disagree with it and am obviously disappointed that election laws were changed by state judges after the election, I respect that the federal court does not view they have a role in this decision,” Ziccarelli said. “I believe that election laws passed by the legislature are meant to be followed. They were not in this election. I am proud that our team fought for a fair and free election based on the law that was passed and I will never regret standing up for that principle.”
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