Republicans in the 18th Congressional district are pushing for all the voting machines used in Tuesday’s special election to be impounded for a recount.
According to the Post-Gazette Republicans are planning to file a petition to impound the machines, though where the petition would be filed.
Republicans say they are investigating what they say are irregularities with the voting machines, and issues with the voting process including people being told to go to the wrong location, and Republican poll watchers being barred from overseeing the count of absentee ballots in Allegheny county.
From the Post-Gazette.
County spokeswoman Amie Downs said that on Election Day there had been discussions with Republican attorneys about their ability to oversee the vote-counting process. Under the state Election Code, she said, such observers must have a signed authorization from the chair of the county committee. “They didn’t produce that until the very end of the evening, when the ballots had already been scanned,” she said.
Mark Wolosik, who directs the county’s elections office, said that late Tuesday morning, “a call came in asking about people being able to observe the [counting] process on Election Night.”
Usually, he said, “people ask ahead of time” rather than on Election Day itself.
Phone messages were exchanged over the following hours, and eventually two Republican attorneys arrived at the central tabulation center, located in Pittsburgh. Mr. Wolosik said that an attorney identified himself as being “from the Saccone campaign,” but the Election Code only allows political parties, not candidates, to deputize observers. A lawyer later produced an email purporting to show such authorization, but Mr. Wolosik said he couldn’t accept that because “there was no signature.” He swore in the observer after receiving a signed authorization.
Democrat Conor Lamb currently leads Republican Rick Saccone by 627 votes according to the Department of State.
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27 Responses
any loser candidate can file a post petition challenge to try to nullify the winner’s realists. for such challenge to be successful the loser would have to nullify the entire margin between winner and loser , plus one (679 margin, sack needs 680 in a post petition to win. 1/ sack lawyers forgot to get signed candidate poll watch certificates (duh) so cannot complain when they were PROPERLY excluded from the counts at polls. 2/ ivotronic machines have CHANGE and REVIEW and CANCEL buttons a voter can use. if the screen shows a vote they did not intend they can CHANGE it. without records showing 679 WRONG ivotronic machine issues throwing a vote wrongly to lamb, sack loses. again…. what a waste of time and money. but it gives the post gazette a bizarre above the fold ‘challenge’ article… instead of LAMB WINS AGAINST SACCONE. i am glad NYT and wash post and phil inquirer are online …
WHY WHEN REPUBLIKKKANS LOSE SO THEY ACT SO DESPERATE AND SORE LOSERS!!! Roy Moore STILL hasn’t conceded the Alabama race.
You seriously want to call this a republican problem after 2016?
You people could be so much smarter if you accept that neither side has all the right answers.
Interesting that these Repubs have issues with the voting process when it impacts them, but all is fair and square when their guy wins. Also, it looks here like the campaign and party got their signals crossed in this case. Maybe Saccone campaign should have focused less on robocalls across the state to people hours from their district
Go ahead and let “them” fluff out the election results, Just creates an air of frustration that the Republicans will plunder and pillage honest results in order to MUD up fair elections.
The recount will help solidify the demise of the Republican party in Pennsylvania
Keep America Great!
Trump 2020
Trump won’t complete his first term.
You are delusional.
The republicans aren’t that smart and the democrats aren’t that dumb.
In 2000 , the GOP got the Supreme Court to shut down a statewide recount (which decided POTUS for almost a decade) of a 524 vote discrepancy out of 6 million cast in FL. Now they demand one for 627 votes out of less than .25 million in a single House eat in PA.
*seat (bad self proof reading. The bs gets me a wee bit distracted, perhaps)
Repugs are funny. After the 2004 presidential election they blocked the release of source code from Diebold machines. That was after the founder(?) supported Duhbya.
Embarrassing.
Republican attorneys “hate America and hate God.” That’s why they didn’t think that knowing the law mattered. Must be really hard to be so arrogant and obnoxious. Forgot to take that class in law school where you learn to read the Law book.
2 irregular presidential elections in 16 years where the choice of a clear majority of voters was denied the victory. But of course the Republican party would cry foul in this congressional election for a seat that will only exist for 9 months. Sure they can challenge it, but it will just deny people this district their representation in Congress
It’s the Electoral College, dumdum, and it’s there for a reason.
Yes, to prevent people with “Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity” from becoming president and to prevent “foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils” [Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 68]. Clearly it failed that purpose on both counts.
How, again?
Lamb Wins–Get over it !!
Lol! Resist everyone! Like seriously!
Trump Won-how come you can’t seem to get over it.
More than a year later, is that the only comeback for everything?
Fox News has created a generation of conspiracy theorists and theocrats. Eisenhower and Reagan would be ashamed.
Yep. Pre-packaged propaganda for homebound emphysematic smokers. Factually Erroneous Government Publicity. Fake News with minimal effort from Couchville in Trump Land
So they plead their own ignorance as a reason for a recount? LOLOlolol… The Party of Stupid. There are specifically enumerated reasons for which you can request a recount, but “We’re Stupid!” is not one of them. PA has very limited bases for getting a recount – I am betting those “Republican Lawyers” have no idea what they are.
The biggest “irregularity” is Trump (and the voters are trying to correct it.
Sore losers. Better get some attorneys to watch the process if Republicans get involved in recounts. We already lived through Bush/Gore and saw an election be stolen.
Now with Donald Trump, Russia intervened on his behalf. You can ask Roger Stone about that.
I will put every cent I have to make sure PA Republicans do not cheat. Again, sore losers—and why I hate Republicans. No wonder people drink.