Politics & Government

Statewide Recount Ordered in Commonwealth Court Race

In Allegheny County, a recount of all votes cast by county voters will begin Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

The Allegheny County Board of Elections on Wednesday will begin recounting votes cast for candidates for Commonwealth Court in the May 17 primary election as part of a statewide recount ordered by Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele.

Each of the state's 67 counties must participate in the statewide recount of votes cast for Democratic candidates Barbara Behrend Ernsberger of Shadyside and Katherine Boockvar of Doylestown, Bucks County. The recount, ordered this week, must begin by Wednesday and be completed by June 7.

It will determine the winner of last week's extremely close Democratic primary race and who will face off in the November general election against Republican candidate Anne E. Covey of New Hope, Bucks County, an attorney and the first female member of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.

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In Allegheny County, the Board of Elections will recount votes at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Room 601 of the County Office Building, 542 Forbes Ave., Downtown. The candidates may choose to attend or send a representative, and the Democratic Party may send two representatives to observe, county officials said.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, unofficial statewide results showed that 621,132 people cast votes in that contest. Boockvar, an attorney, drew 2,116 more votes than Ernsberger, also an attorney and a commissioner with the Pittsburgh Planning Department.

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As of this week, the unofficial returns showed that Boockvar received 311,624, or 50.17 percent of the votes cast, and Ernsberger received 309,508, or 49.83 percent of the votes cast. The margin between the numbers of votes cast for Ernsberger and Boockvar was less than one-half of one percent, the threshold at which a mandatory recount is triggered.

“There is nothing more important to our system of government than a transparent election process in which our citizens have confidence,” Aichele said in a statement. “Mandatory recounts in elections this close help maintain that confidence.”

County boards of elections must submit the results of their recounts to the Department of State by noon on June 8. Aichele then will announce the outcome of the election.

The last statewide recount, in 2009, cost approximately $542,000. This cost will be paid by the state, as required by law for mandatory recounts.


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