Officially, it's still not official
By Lara Brenckle, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Allegheny County Elections Director Mark Wolosik said Monday he isn't sure when he'll be able to certify the results of the May 16 primary, even though he was given extra time to do so.
The slow review means candidates in close races are reserving judgment on calls for a recount.

Allegheny County's Election Returns Board began matching up the number of voters to ballots cast Friday, and Wolosik said the work is proceeding more slowly than in years past. Part of the challenge is working out problems related to the county's switch to a touch-screen voting system and its use of backup optical-scan machines for paper ballots.

"We have the optical scans, and many local boards did not place the absentee ballots in the voting box. They left them in their envelopes, and we had to find them," Wolosik said.

The county elections Web site states the county must certify the results to the secretary of state by June 5.

"If that's the deadline, I'm sure we'll meet it," said Kevin Evanto, spokesman for county Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

Allegheny County was one of several Western Pennsylvania counties forced to buy new voting equipment under the federal Help America Vote Act, passed after the Florida fiasco during the 2000 presidential election. The law prohibited the use of punch-card and lever-style voting machines.

Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Lawrence and Washington counties also began verifying their primaries Friday.

Elections divisions in those counties they're encountering similar problems and expect to complete the canvassing either by the end of this week or after Memorial Day.

Candidates have until 20 days after the election or five days after the completion of canvassing to ask Common Pleas Court for a recount.

A candidate seeking a recount must pay $50 cash for each precinct or post a $100 bond for each precinct to have a district recounted, Wolosik said. The court decides whether the candidate receives all, none or some of the money back when a recount is completed, he said.

Jaret Gibbons, a recent graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, is leading by 30 votes over incumbent state Rep. Frank LaGrotta, of Lawrence County, in the Democratic primary for House District 10, which covers Butler, Beaver and Lawrence counties.

Although totals might change slightly after military and provisional ballots are counted, Gibbons said he is confident in the results.

"I don't see the numbers that came from the machines disturbed," he said.

No one could be reached yesterday at LaGrotta's Ellwood City office.

Ed Gainey, who is trailing by 96 votes to incumbent state Rep. Joseph Preston Jr. in the Democratic 24th District House race, said he is waiting to see how absentee and optical-scan ballots affect his totals before deciding whether to seek a recount.

"They're about 70 percent done with the district, and I want to look at all of the information" before making a decision, Gainey said.

Monroeville businessman Steve O'Donnell is trailing incumbent Democratic Rep. Joseph Markosek by 155 votes in the House's 25th District.

"As far as I know, I've won the race albeit a close one but it's a victory," Markosek said.

O'Donnell said he had not yet decided whether to ask for a recount as he waits for certified vote tallies from Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.

He has questions about the district's absentee and paper ballots.

"Whether those absentees and paper ballots have been scanned, we don't know," O'Donnell said. "We were told they were, but we're not sure."

O'Donnell said he anticipated Westmoreland County would begin counting votes from his race Thursday. He did not know when Allegheny might start.

"We'll stay the course until we see what the count is and keep all our options open," he said.

Lara Brenckle can be reached at lbrenckle@tribweb.com or 412-320-7840.