ABOVE PHOTO: Judge Lori Dumas (Photo/judgedumas2021.com)
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid recently announced that all 67 counties have completed the recount of the Commonwealth Court race and the recount results confirm the original unofficial election results, with Lori A. Dumas winning the second open seat on the court.
“I want to thank the counties for their hard work. They have had a very busy couple of weeks counting the ballots from the Nov. 2 election, immediately followed by the recount of this race,” Degraffenreid said. “The recount results prove the accuracy and integrity of our election system.”
The recount results are as follows:
Stacy Marie Wallace (R) – 1,355,445 (26.56%)
Lori A. Dumas (D) – 1,297,253 (25.42%)
Drew Crompton (R) – 1,274,899 (24.98%)
David Lee Spurgeon (D) – 1,175,974 (23.04%)
The original unofficial returns when the recount was ordered showed the following results:
Stacy Marie Wallace (R) – 1,352,365 (26.61%)
Lori A. Dumas (D) – 1,288,936 (25.36%)
Drew Crompton (R) – 1,272,132 (25.03%)
David Lee Spurgeon (D) – 1,168,314 (22.99%)
Dumas and Crompton, the second and third place finishers, respectively, had vote totals within the one-half of 1% margin that triggers a mandatory recount under state law.
Secretary Degraffenreid ordered the recount on Nov. 11. Counties completed their work Tuesday and submitted the recount results to the Department of State by the deadline of noon today.
The department estimates that the recount cost at least $1.3 million of taxpayer funds.
This is the fifth time the automatic recount provision under Act 97 of 2004 has been triggered and the third time a recount has been carried out.
The first recount was conducted in the Superior Court race in November 2009, where nine candidates were competing for four vacancies. In that election, there was a difference of 3,330 votes between the fourth- and sixth-place candidates, and a margin of 2,006 votes between the fourth- and fifth-place finishers. The recount affirmed the initial results.
The second recount was ordered in May 2011 in the Democratic primary contest for a seat on the Commonwealth Court, when the margin between the two candidates was 2,116 votes. The recount affirmed the initial results.
A recount in the 2010 Democratic primary race for lieutenant governor was averted when the trailing candidate waived his right to a recount. In 2017, three candidates for Superior Court, all of whose vote totals fell within the recount margin, waived their right to a recount. And in 2019, the third-place finisher in the race for two open seats on the Superior Court waived her right to a recount.
The Commonwealth Court is an intermediate appellate court that primarily handles matters involving state and local governments. It also acts as a trial court when lawsuits are filed against the Commonwealth.
Since the counties conducted a full recount of a statewide race, counties will not be asked to do a risk-limiting audit of the 2021 municipal election.
Unofficial returns for the Nov. 2 election and for the recount can be found at: www.electionreturns.pa.gov.
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