Election boards in Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are poised to start recounting hundreds of thousands of ballots in a tightly contested statewide judicial primary race.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele on Thursday ordered a mandatory recount in the Democratic primary election for Commonwealth Court judge.
Doylestown lawyer Kathryn Boockvar beat her opponent, Barbara Behrend Ernsberger, a Pittsburgh lawyer, by 2,116 votes in the May 17 election. The margin of victory was below one half of 1 percent of the total vote – the threshold for triggering an automatic recount under the law.
… Aichele said the recount ensured government openness and accountability.
“There is nothing more important to our system of government than a transparent election process in which our citizens have confidence,” she said in a statement. The last statewide recount – in a November 2009 Superior Court race – cost the state $542,000.
By law, the results of the current recount must be presented to the Department of State by June 8.
Full Article: Pa. to begin recount in close primary race for Commonwealth Court judge – Philly.com.