Luzerne County’s Election Board is still immersed in reviewing April 23 primary election ballots with write-in votes and markings that have been flagged.
Jennifer Learn-Andes | Times Leader
A partially shaded ballot bubble has landed Michael Cabell another vote, against strong objections from his opponent, Jamie Walsh, in the Republican race for state representative in the 117th District.
Cabell picked up the additional mail ballot vote Tuesday during the Luzerne County Election Board’s ongoing adjudication process.
While it’s not yet reflected in the county’s unofficial online April 23 primary election results database, the decision decreases the vote gap separating Walsh and incumbent Cabell from four to three, with Walsh ahead.
This ballot was among those flagged by the voting system for various reasons, including stray marks and bubbles that are not fully shaded.
Election Board Chairwoman Denise Williams said the board regularly encounters bubbles that are not fully shaded during the public adjudication and must review them and make a determination.
In this case, Williams said approximately one-third of the bubble next to Cabell’s name was shaded, and a board majority concluded that was ample enough to show voter intent in selecting Cabell.
Williams voted to accept the selection along with fellow members Albert Schlosser and Daniel Schramm.
Board Vice Chairwoman Alyssa Fusaro voted against counting the vote. Rick Morelli, the fifth board member, was absent.
Fusaro said she did not believe this vote should be counted because a majority of the shading was in the empty space between the bubbles for Cabell and Walsh.
She said she makes all decisions based on the facts and clear voter intent, and she voted no in this case because the voter intent was unclear.
Walsh said the voter in this instance “hit dead center on the target” of shading in bubbles for all other races except the 117th District one.
Walsh’s bubble was above Cabell’s on the ballot, and he believes the voter started shading in the upper portion of Cabell’s circle and “then squiggled toward mine.”
No shading reached Walsh’s bubble, but Walsh said the ballot review system indicated only 33% of Cabell’s bubble was shaded.
“If the voter started at the bottom of Mike’s oval and went down I could see, but why did the voter start at the top of Mike’s oval and go up?” Walsh said. “How can anybody say with 100% conviction that this voter’s intent was to vote for Mike when only 33% of the oval was filled?”
After the board voted to approve the selection Tuesday, Walsh said he asked if the board would reconsider and vote again on Wednesday, when all five board members were expected to be present. Walsh said the board voted on that request, but it failed due to a 2-2 tie vote.
Walsh said several other ballots with bubble-shading issues surfaced after the one in his race, and the board “quarantined” them until Wednesday’s board vote.
“I asked for the same courtesy that all of these other ballots are getting,” Walsh said.
It’s unclear when results from this portion of adjudication will be uploaded to the county database because the board’s current review also includes write-in tallies that are typically posted in one final batch at the conclusion of the process.
Fusaro said there are more than 7,700 ballots remaining for the board to adjudicate. The board will convene at 9 a.m. Wednesday with the goal of remaining until all these ballots are adjudicated, Fusaro said.
Where it stands
For those trying to keep track, a number of potential votes are still at play in the 117th District:
• A county court decision is pending on six mail ballots Walsh sought to throw out.
These votes already were factored into the tally and would have to be backed out if the court rules in favor of Walsh.
• Cabell filed a court appeal Monday seeking the tallying of one provisional ballot, the rejection of another and credit for at least five write-in votes.
If the court rules in Cabell’s favor on any these, the ballot selections would be added to the current unofficial tally.
• Twelve election board-approved provisional ballots cannot be tallied yet, even though they were not challenged by candidates, because another one in this batch is under appeal by Cabell.
Attorneys have said tallying of this entire group must wait until all appeals are adjudicated. Because they remain sealed, there’s no way of knowing which candidates these voters selected. Before any of these votes could be counted, the board also must check to verify the ballots are inside inner secrecy envelopes containing no marks identifying the voter casting them — defects that would force the board to reject them.
