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Counties must recount ballots in Superior Court race |
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Local Content -
Local News
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Written by Staff reports
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Tuesday, 17 November 2009 |
HARRISBURG — Jefferson County will be among all Pennsylvania counties undertaking a mandatory recount of ballots cast for four open seats on the state Superior Court.
The Jefferson County Election Board learned Friday that the Commonwealth secretary of state had ordered a statewide recount for the office of judge of the superior court.
The county's official count board will hold the recount at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Jefferson Place.
The Associated Press said the recount, expected to cost taxpayers as much as $1.3 million, will be the first statewide recount triggered by law in Pennsylvania history, Secretary of State Pedro Cortes said.
A 2004 state law provides for an automatic recount whenever competing candidates' vote totals are separated by 0.5 percent of the votes cast or less.
In the Nov. 3 election, Philadelphia Judge Anne Lazarus appeared to garner enough votes to claim the fourth seat, but three candidates trailing her were all within that margin.
Two of the candidates previously waived their right to the recount, but the other candidate, Pittsburgh lawyer Temp Smith, declined Friday to join them, so Cortes ordered the recount of all votes cast for all nine candidates on the ballot.
With fewer than 300 ballots uncounted out of 6.3 million cast, Smith trailed Lazarus by 3,534 votes, according to unofficial returns from the State Department.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 November 2009 )
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