No recounts triggered in state

[Freddie Stubbs]

By Marc Levy

The Associated Press


HARRISBURG - None of Pennsylvania's five statewide elections last week was close enough to trigger an automatic recount, Secretary of State Pedro A. Cortes said Thursday.

A state law, signed in October, requires recounts in any statewide election in which the difference between winner and loser is 0.5 percent or less of the total vote. Unofficial returns show the margins in the two closest races -- president and state attorney general -- were each more than 120,000 votes, too wide for a still-incomplete tally of provisional and overseas absentee ballots to affect, Cortes said.

"Based on the information I have today, my determination ... is that none of the races were within the half of one percent margin of victory and therefore no automatic recount is needed," Cortes said.

The Department of State is required by the recount law to determine by the second Thursday after a statewide election whether a recount is necessary -- even though counties do not have to certify their official election results until later.

more: http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/local/10160185.htm

[enough]

1. I would have thought the Murphy/Gerlach race for congress

was close enough to trigger a recount.

About 5000 votes, same as he beat Woffort by in 2002, and coming at the end of the night as before.