Recount requests delay Pennsylvania election certification
Five weeks after Election Day in Pennsylvania, the winning candidates from Governor to Congress are still waiting for their victories.
A coordinated effort by conservatives appears to have inundated several counties with requests for ballot recounts, even though there are no races close enough to warrant one. There has also been no evidence that any problems could exist.
If the results aren’t what voters want in the most closely contested state of the country, the delay could be a sign that a strategy is being considered for the 2024 presidential elections.
Recounts were requested in 172 precincts throughout 40% of Pennsylvania’s 67 county. Nine counties missed the Nov. 29 deadline for certification, but all except one have since been certified.
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The Pennsylvania Department of State responded to The Associated Press Wednesday. It did not give a date for certifying results statewide, but stated that it would comply with a request by the Clerk of the U.S House to submit certification documents to Congress by mid December. Wednesday, December 14.
Chris Deluzio (a Pittsburgh Democrat) was elected to the U.S. House in November. He said that the delay has only had a minor impact on him. The congressman-elect does not get to mail free mail, unlike other members of Congress, because his win isn’t yet official.
Deluzio stated that if people can delay certification results by going to court without having any evidence, it’s a problem.
Six counties had at least 19 precinct counts authorized by judges. The recounts were requested by those who wanted to verify the accuracy of state election equipment and processes. This echos conspiracy claims about voting machine manipulation, for which there is no evidence.
Brittany Crampsie is a political consultant who has been involved in Democratic campaigns in Pennsylvania. She said that she expects the recount tactic will continue “as long Donald Trump and his acolytes are prevalent in the Republican Party.”
Crampsie stated that “in a lot these cases it’s entirely politically and it’s an expensive waste of taxpayer funds.”
Arizona’s rural county commissions threatened or delayed certification of the primary and general election results in New Mexico this year. In each case, there was no evidence that something was amiss with the vote counting.
A survey by AP of Pennsylvania precinct recounts revealed that recount challenges had altered the vote totals only slightly or none at all. One county judge urged state legislators not to change Pennsylvania’s recount law because there were no problems.
In a footnote to orders authorizing recounts, Westmoreland Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. stated that such demands should be accompanied with specific claims of fraud or error.
Smail wrote that “a sustained failure to address the deficiency would continue to burden courts, election bureaus, election boards, county executive branch and the voting public by permitting manufactured challenges without any scintilla evidence support to any and all elections certification processes in the future.”
Leanne Krueger is the leader of the state House Democratic Campaign Committee. She stated that those who claim the results of the 2020 presidential elections were false have tried to stop election certification for many years.
Krueger stated that these petitions fail largely because they aren’t grounded. “And every time a county board of election requests something like this, they force the taxpayer to spend money on elections already decided.”
State law requires that recounts be conducted for every election district where ballots were cast in any given race. In the case of statewide contests that would include all counties and precincts. If petitioners allege “a specific act of fraud or error occurred”, and provide evidence supporting that claim, there is an exception.
Many judges rejected recount petitions because they didn’t have any evidence or a particular claim.
Local Republican Party groups supported at least two recount requests. It is unclear if the larger request effort is also linked to Audit the Vote PA. This group was founded in 2021 from the false belief that something was amiss with the 2020 Presidential results in Pennsylvania. Trump lost to Joe Biden in Pennsylvania. Karen Taylor, founder of Audit the Vote PA, filed a Westmoreland County recount petition.
Toni Shuppe, the group’s cofounder, stated that petition submissions had been made possible during a question-and-answer session held on Rumble’s social media platform. However, she did not attribute the effort to her company.
Shuppe stated in an online forum that “it’s our sacred vote” and that the movement isn’t going away. He also urged that ballots be counted manually.
These requests generally requested hand counts for the races for governor or U.S. Senate. However, some have also asked for double-checking the vote totals for U.S. House as well as for state representatives. Many people used a blank form letter to fill in precincts and counties.
The AP precinct survey didn’t reveal any recount requests from candidates who lost close contests.
Many petitioners were rejected because they had worked as election officials Nov. 8, and certified the results as correct. Others were denied because they did not live in the precinct where a recount was requested, or because they failed to pay the $50 bond.
Some counties that were targeted for recounts had already submitted their totals to the Department of State prior to being notified of legal actions. Others had not yet certified, or had only certified partial results.
Forrest Lehman, chief election officer for Lycoming County, stated that defending a single petition for a recount required copies of the poll books and collection of a variety records.
Lehman stated that “We felt compelled” to be prepared for any situation. “This certainly took hours of mine and hours of our solicitor’s time.”
