A state Supreme Court ruling Friday brought a Luzerne County state House primary election closer to a resolution.
The court upheld a Commonwealth Court ruling that ruled one provisional ballot valid and another invalid.
The ruling doesn’t change the outcome of the Republican state 117th House District race but clears the way for the first approval of the final result and a possible recount.
Challenger Jamie Walsh, 49, a gutter installation company owner from Ross Township, leads first-term incumbent Rep. Mike Cabell, 39, of Butler Township, by five votes, 4,735 to 4,730.
In-depth reviews of write-in, provisional and mail-in ballots by the county Board of Elections & Registration and court appeals by the candidates have delayed the final outcome. The Supreme Court ruling on the provisional was the final pending appeal.
Luzerne County Director of Elections Emily Cook said the elections board will set a date to meet for a “first signing” of the results. After that, candidates have five days to ask the county court of common pleas for a recount.
The court will decide how extensive the recount should be — whether all or some of the ballots should be recounted. That could depend on nature of a recount request.
If the court forbids a recount or a recount is approved and completed, the elections board will meet again to certify the result, Cook said.
The lack of a settled outcome has prevented county officials from setting a final ballot for the 117th.
Cook said the elections bureau must begin mailing military and overseas ballots by Sept. 21. Officials already have begun processing applications for mail-in ballots. They must be mailed by Oct. 22, two weeks before the Nov. 5 election.
“Obviously, we want to mail them well before that,” she said.
Cabell hasn’t said if he’ll seek a recount but hinted at one in a July 12 statement that followed the board’s tallying of 12 other provisional ballots.
The statement said he would appeal a Commonwealth Court ruling on one of the two provisionals that went against him and was “considering filing a petition for a recount to ensure every vote is accurately counted and every voice is heard.”
The Commonwealth Court ruling upheld by the highest court, centered on provisional ballots cast by Cabell’s cousin, Shane O’Donnell, and Lake Township voter Tim Wagner.
Walsh argued O’Donnell’s vote shouldn’t count because he moved to Schuylkill County outside the district before the April 23 primary election. The Commonwealth Court disagreed and said O’Donnell could vote in the 117th race because he moved within 30 days before the election.
Walsh wanted Wagner’s vote to count, but the Commonwealth Court said it shouldn’t because Wagner didn’t sign an outer envelope used to return the ballot twice.
The 117th district includes Black Creek, Butler, Conyngham, Dennison, Dorrance, Fairmount, Foster, Hollenback, Hunlock, Huntington, Lake, Lehman, Nescopeck, Ross, Salem, Slocum, Sugarloaf and Union townships and Conyngham, Dallas, Freeland, Harveys Lake, Jeddo, Nescopeck, New Columbus, Nuangola, Penn Lake Park, Shickshinny and White Haven boroughs.
