Celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz (left) and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick (right) are neck-in-neck for the GOP nomination for Pennsylvania Senate. (Getty Images)HARRISBURG, Pa. - The U.S.
Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the counting of some mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, an order that could affect the tight Republican Senate primary between former hedge fund CEO David McCormick and celebrity heart surgeon Dr.
Mehmet Oz.An order from Justice Samuel Alito paused a lower-court ruling in a lawsuit over a disputed 2021 local court election that would have allowed the counting of mail-in ballots that lacked a handwritten date.The 3rd U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia had ruled that the state election law’s requirement of a date next to the voter’s signature on the outside of return envelopes was "immaterial" and no reason to throw out such ballots.Based on that ruling, the state had advised counties to count those ballots in the race between McCormick and Oz, and McCormick promptly went to court to force counties to follow through.The race is currently in the midst of a statewide recount until June 8, with Oz ahead of McCormick in the initial tally by 922 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast — even though some counties are still not done counting every ballot cast in the May 17 primary election.RELATED HEADLINESAs McCormick scrounges for ballots to make up the gap with Oz, Alito’s order could freeze McCormick's lawsuit in Pennsylvania state courts.Pennsylvania's Department of State — which oversees elections — did not immediately say Tuesday whether it will change its guidance to counties on how to handle the ballots.The U.S.