Judge expects decision on Tuesday in Ziccarelli-Brewster race
The federal judge considering the challenge to Pennsylvania’s 45th District Senate seat said a ruling on the matter will come Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan said over the weekend that his order on the challenge by Nicole Ziccarelli against the state and Allegheny County for counting undated mail-in ballots would come on Monday.
However, around 5:30 p.m., the court entered a notice on the docket that the decision, instead, will be filed before noon on Tuesday.
Ziccarelli, a New Kensington attorney, ran as a Republican against incumbent Democrat Jim Brewster for the seat that includes portions of both Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.
According to the state, Brewster won the seat by 69 votes. However, Ziccarelli believes that Allegheny County improperly counted 311 mail-in ballots that did not have a date on their outer, mailing envelope.
She filed a challenge first in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, and also in Commonwealth Court and the state Supreme Court.
The state Supreme Court ruled that the votes should be counted.
Ziccarelli then filed a challenge in federal court.
Last week, the Senate floor descended into chaos as Republicans refused to allow Brewster to be seated. During the mayhem, the Republicans removed Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who was presiding over the senate, from his position.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of “Death by Cyanide.” She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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