Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro took aim at Democratic county officials on Monday for openly defying the state’s supreme court ruling regarding the counting of illegal ballots.

“Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process,” the Democratic governor said. “The rule of law matters in Pennsylvania. … It is critical for counties in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions.”

Shapiro added that he will “continue working to protect our democracy and the votes of all eligible Pennsylvanians.”

Last week, Bucks County commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia made headlines after claiming, “People violate laws any time they want.”

“So, for me, if I violate this law it’s because I want a court to pay attention,” she added. “There’s nothing more important than counting votes.”

Ellis-Marseglia apologized on Monday and attempted to walk back her comments, rendering them a “misinterpretation of [an] inartfully worded statement on my part.”

“I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused,” she said.

The scandal emerged against the backdrop of a hotly contested Senate election, where the AP already called the race in Republican challenger Dave McCormick’s favor. Under state law, the narrow margin of victory initiated an automatic recount. Democratic incumbent Bob Casey has yet to concede

Democratic officials in Purple Bucks County were joined by officials in heavily blue Philadelphia and Montgomery counties in opting to continue counting ballots that lack a handwritten date on the return envelope, in contravention of the a November state supreme court ruling that upheld a state law requiring the handwritten dates.

The high court doubled down on Monday, reaffirming the ruling in a 4-3 decision. The justices claimed that the Boards of Elections in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County “SHALL COMPLY with the prior rulings of this Court in which we have clarified,” referring to the procedure for counting mail-in and absentee ballots previously established in November.

“Heartening to see, RNC Chair Michael Whatley posted on X. “Once Democrats came to the conclusion that even ignoring the Pennsylvania Supreme Court can’t scrape up enough ballots to win…, Governor Shapiro suddenly discovers that he stands with the rule of law. Better late than never.”

Chris LaCivita, a Trump campaign official, felt confident that if illegal ballots are counted, election officials will face severe consequences.

“They will go to jail,” he took to social media over the weekend. “Count on it.”