Bucks Co. Dems, Republicans Say Thanks For 'Fair' Election

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties in Bucks County joined in a show of unity Friday to thank county workers for a "fair, transparent and accountable" election.

A letter, addressed to Bucks County Board of Elections Director Thomas Freitag, was signed by Bucks County Democratic Committee Chairman John Cordisco and Bucks County Republican Committee Chairwoman Pat Poprik.

"While we may each support different candidates, we both want the process to be fair," the letter said. "We worked very hard here in Bucks County, along with your staff and our county commissioners, to ensure that the process was fair, transparent and accountable in a way that should give our voters confidence in the accuracy of the reported outcome."

The letter comes after days in which President Donald Trump and his team have tried to cast doubt on the outcome of the election in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Trump's team, however, has produced no solid evidence of widespread fraud or or other inconsistencies in the race, which he lost, in Pennsylvania and nationwide, to President-elect Joe Biden.

On Friday, the law firm that filed an election lawsuit for Trump in Pennsylvania announced it was withdrawing from the case. A day earlier, the Trump team withdrew its challenge of provisional ballots in neighboring Montgomery County, after challenges were upheld on just 16 of 4,233 ballots.

In Bucks County, Biden received about 16,000 more votes than Trump. But the same voters, along with those in a sliver of Montgomery County, sent Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick back to Washington for a third term.

In their letter, Cordisco and Poprik acknowledged the difficulty of running an election amid the coronavirus pandemic and using new, state-mandated voting machines as well as a new law allowing mail-in voting on request.

"The long days, nights and weekend hours your staff put in at three offices across the county were critical and your dedication is truly appreciated," the letter said.

It also thanked other county workers who pitched in to help with the election and Bucks County voters, who cast ballots in record numbers despite coronavirus concerns.

"It is encouraging to see so many of our friends, neighbors and family taking part in such an important election," it said.