Mail-In Ballot Controversy Stews After Montco Election Tiebreaker, Delayed Certification

TOWAMENCIN, PA — Democrat Kofi Osei has officially won the Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors race, as Montgomery County's 2023 election results were finally certified without any further delays or challenges.

Osei had tied incumbent Republican Rich Marino in the race, as each had exactly 3,035 votes. Osei then won a random drawing to break the tie. The results were not challenged within the mandatory five-day waiting period, and the county certified the entirety of its results on Monday.

Marino had led by four votes before a federal court ruling was handed down that required all mail-in ballots that were undated or had incorrect dates to be counted. A total of 349 ballots across the county were impacted, with Marino getting one additional vote and Osei five additional votes.

Marino has not issued a statement on the final results but made it clear that he did not agree with the court ruling.

"No one wants to exclude anyone from voting – but for the public to have confidence in election outcomes, there needs to be established procedures that are followed uniformly," Marino said. " If anything goes – we will never get back to the confidence we had in elections prior to mail-in balloting."

He described the court's logic as the same as allowing residents who showed up to the polls late to vote, adding "procedures matter."

Osei has publicly disagreed and argued that that the back and forth over the issue of undated ballots needs to be resolved before the next election, which could have national implications.

"If we want full clarity we would need a ruling from the Supreme Court or for the PA General Assembly to clarify the law," he said. "I think clarifying the law is the cleanest option."

He said that removing the date requirement from ballots and allowing pre-canvassing of mail-in ballots would prevent post-election controversies like this year from happening.