A hearing has been set for an appeal filed by a Republican U.S. Senate candidate who wants some primary election votes cast in Berks County thrown out.
David McCormick filed the appeal in Berks County Court immediately following a meeting last week in which the Berks County Elections Board voted unanimously to dismiss his challenge that provisional ballots cast after 8 p.m. on May 17 not be included in the county’s official vote count.
The hearing has been scheduled for June 9 at 1:30 p.m. before Judge James L. Lillis.
McCormick is in a heated contest, trailing celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz by just 902 votes to become the Republican nominee for the Senate seat. The race and razor-thin lead that Oz holds has drawn the attention of the nation and triggered a statewide recount.
McCormick campaign’s challenge stems from an election day issue in Berks that led to voting being extended by one hour.
Shortly after voting began at 7 a.m., several precincts around the county reported the new electronic poll books did not display the signature on record for the voter. The issue led the county to decide to shut down the electronic poll books and instead use backup paper poll books.
Polling locations did not have the paper poll books on hand, so county workers had to deliver them to each of the 202 precincts.
While poll workers were told not to let the switch impact voting, some poll workers and voters reported that voters were turned away at the polls and asked to return later or instructed to fill out provisional ballots.
The situation led the county’s Republican and Democratic committees to join forces and petition the court to extend voting by one hour. That request was granted by Lillis, who ordered polls stay open until 9 p.m.
Lillis’ order instructed poll workers to allow voters who arrived at precincts between 8 and 9 p.m. to fill out provisional ballots.
A total of 143 such provisional ballots were cast by Republicans. Those are the ones challenged by McCormick.
Source: Berkshire mont
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