The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal to determine whether provisional ballots should be counted in a narrow Republican primary race for a Luzerne County state House seat.
The case is one of three before the court involving the race in the 117th Legislative District as incumbent state Rep. Mike Cabell (R-Luzerne) and challenger Jaime Walsh, who has already declared victory, fight to mop up any uncounted votes.
At issue in the appeal granted Wednesday is whether two provisional ballots – one submitted lacking a signature and the other cast by a voter who recently moved to another county – should be counted.
The Supreme Court has not announced whether it will hear appeals by Walsh in a dispute over six mail-in ballots, and by Cabell, who wants the county board of elections to tally 22 write-in votes for state representative in the district.
Walsh, who claimed victory earlier this month, holds a five-vote lead over incumbent Cabell, according to unofficial Luzerne County election results. Only the write-in votes could change the outcome of the race, though a lawyer for Walsh said the likelihood of that is slim.
There is no Democratic candidate for the seat, so the winner of the primary is expected to be the winner of the November election.
Walsh contends Commonwealth Court incorrectly reversed decisions by the Luzerne County elections board and a panel of Luzerne County judges that found one of the provisional ballots should be counted and one should not.
The elections board and county judges found, in accordance with guidance from state election officials, that a provisional ballot submitted without one of two required signatures should be counted because the voter’s intent was clear.
A Commonwealth Court panel ruled 2-1 that the ballot should not be counted, citing a statutory requirement that both an affidavit and the ballot’s outer envelope be signed by the voter.
In his filing with the Supreme Court, Walsh argues that the issue is one not previously decided by the court and is likely to arise in future elections. He also contends Commonwealth Court’s ruling goes against a Supreme Court ruling from 2020.
Citing the dissenting opinion of Commonwealth Court Judge Matthew Wolf, Walsh argues the 2020 decision regarding absentee and mail-in ballots with missing or incorrect information requires courts to interpret the Election Code in favor of allowing votes to be counted.
Because the ballot was cast in the presence of election workers and the voter testified as to his intent, the missing signature should be excused as a “technical error,” Walsh argues
He also argues that the Commonwealth Court panel incorrectly ruled the other provisional ballot should be counted because the voter claimed he was still living in Luzerne County, albeit temporarily with his mother. Walsh argued the voter had already transferred his voter registration to Schuylkill County and was able to vote there.
The post Pa. Supreme Court to hear appeal over provisional ballots in narrow Luzerne County House race appeared first on Pennsylvania Capital-Star.