IT’S OFFICIAL
Biden certified as winner of presidential race in Delco, Pa.:
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » The Delaware County Election Board on Monday certified almost all of the results of the Nov. 3 election — declaring Democrat Joe Biden the overwhelming winner of the presidential race here.
Biden took 206,709 votes, of 62.96 of those cast. Republican incumbent Donald Trump got 118, 169, or
36.13 percent. Libertarian Jo Jorgenson trailed with
2,981 or .91 percent. Overall, 77.60 percent of the county’s 425,461 registered voted cast ballots in person or by mail.
The Biden-Kamala Harris ticket was also certified the winner in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, cementing their victory and making Biden the 46th president of the United States.
There was one Delco race that was unresolved and had to go to court, however.
Common Pleas Court Judge Jack Whelan has dismissed a petition seeking a recount of nine precincts in the 165th Legislative District, where incumbent Democrat Jennifer O’Mara beat back Republican challenger Bob Smythe by a narrow margin.
“After consideration of the petition and a hearing on this matter held on
Nov. 23, 2020, this court finds that although the petitioner has demonstrated certain election discrepancies, after review of the testimony and exhibits entered into evidence there is insufficient evidence to establish that the discrepancies amount to fraud or error contemplated by the relevant statutes … to justify a recount or recanvassing of the identified precincts,” the one-page order filed Tuesday reads.
The 165th was the only district whose results were not certified Monday by the Delaware County Board of Elections pending the peti
tion filed by attorney Hugh Donahue on behalf of 27 voters Friday.
Tuesday’s order dismissing the petition vacated a temporary stay order against certification in that race, which the board finished Tuesday evening. Donahue could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Whelan, a Republican, pointed out during Monday’s hearing that no specific fraud or widespread error with the count had been alleged – only human errors, inconsistencies and “discrepancies.” Whelan also noted that no election will ever be per
fect and that such human errors and discrepancies will always take place.
The question before him, Whelan said, was whether there had been human error to the degree that it would affect the outcome of the election. Vote totals available online show O’Mara bested Smythe 21,529 to 20222, a margin of 1,307 votes.
Donahue said that if each of the 50 or so precincts making up the district showed 27 to 30 errors, that could in fact sway the election toward Smythe. If the requested districts showed a significant deviation, he said, then it would be up to the court to decide whether to go further and take a closer look at more – or potentially all – precincts. If there was no significant deviation in the requested districts, Donahue added, then the petitioners would simply withdraw and the matter would be closed.
The crux of the issue was the language of the state’s election laws regarding recounts, according to Board of Elections Solicitor J. Manly Parks.
Donahue claimed in court Monday that two sections of that law allow for a recount if “fraud or error” was committed in the computation of votes or canvassing. But Parks argued that those sections only apply to recounting targeted precincts if there is a particular allegation of fraud or error, which the petition did not do.
Instead, Parks said, another section of the law applied that would require the entire district to be recounted, which could only be accomplished if the petitioners provide a $50 fee per precinct and three petitioners from each precinct.
Donahue called one of the petitioners Monday, J. Lee Fulton of Springfield, who said he filled out a mail-in ballot and delivered it to a ballot drop box outside the Springfield Library. Fulton said he checked to see whether his vote had been counted online last week, but it was still listed as “pending,” as it had been for weeks.
Also testifying was Republican Election Board Member Jim Byrne, who agreed that a review board made up of nine members of each party had found no evidence of fraud or manifest error in any election and that discrepancies in eight of the nine requested precincts had been “reconciled.”
Gerald Lawrence, the Democratic chair of the Board, also testified that the review board had made specific findings during 11 days of work that there had been some discrepancies, but none were due to fraud or were material to the outcome of any election in the county.
Parks said the Board had also been ordered Monday to provide materials associated with a “challenge petition” in the 9th Senatorial District, which was certified Monday as going to Democratic challenger John Kane over incumbent Republican Tom Killion, 50,689 to 45,185 in Delaware County.
The district covers part of Chester County, where results were much tighter. According to online results available Tuesday, Kane is leading Killion 29,461 to 28,929 there, or just 532 votes. Killion has already conceded that race.