Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia apologized for claiming court precedent "doesn't matter" in relation to provisional ballots.

A Democratic election official in Pennsylvania offered an impassioned apology Wednesday for claiming “precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country” to justify counting about 600 faulty ballots in defiance of state Supreme Court rulings.

A recount had been triggered in the Pennsylvania Senate race as the initial result was within 0.5 percentage points.

Democratic-majority election boards in Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Bucks counties voted last week to count the ballots that lacked a correct date.

According to unofficial results, Republican Dave McCormick leads incumbent Democrat Bob Casey by roughly 16,000 votes. "That is a staggeringly close number considering that 36,604 Philadelphians chose to undervote the race," said Philadelphia Commissioner Lisa M Deeley (D), meaning they voted for President but skipped over the Senate race.

Republican Dave McCormick will defeat Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, CNN projects, boosting the GOP majority in the Senate next year.

Bob Casey on Thursday conceded in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania to Republican challenger Dave McCormick. In an email from his campaign, Casey, a Democrat, said he called McCormick to congratulate him on his win in the race.

Senator Bob Casey has conceded to his Republican opponent, David McCormick, in a Pennsylvania race that was so close that it triggered a recount.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey asked for the recount to be ended, the Pennsylvania Department of State told counties

Bucks County has been at the center of controversy since a commissioner said she willingly decided to ignore a court directive to disqualify certain ballots.