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Pennsylvania Recount Laws
This information was initially released on October 21, 2010. Note: The website hosting the Pennsylvania Statutes does not allow for us to link to individual statutes or sections. The index for and links to all statutes cited below can be found at: http://government.westlaw.com/linkedslice/default.asp?SP=pac-1000.
Voting System Used:
Mixed paper ballot and DREs without VVPAT For more details, visit Verified Voting.
Counting Method:
Mix of retabulation and electronic review Pennsylvania's Election Code contains different provisions for the variety of voting systems used throughout the state: 1) For districts that use paper ballots cast on optical scan systems, the law requires that “manual, mechanical, or electronic devices of a different type” than those used for the initial counting be used, meaning that either a recount or a retabulation is possible. However, all ballots with overvotes must be recounted by hand. See Title 25, “Elections and Electoral Districts,” Chapter 14, “Election Code,” Article XVII, “Recounts and Contests,” Section 3154, Subsection (e)(3). 2)For districts using direct-recording electronic machines (DREs) without a voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT), only an electronic review is performed. The review involves checking the total tapes on each machine, and if there is a discrepancy between the total and the initial canvass of the returns, a testing of the machine's counter. See Section 3154, Subsection (e)(1), as well as the Secretary of State's “Directive Concerning the Operation and Conduct of Recounts Utilizing Electronic Voting Systems”: https://www.verifiedvoting.org/downloads/PA-2008EVSRECOUNTDirective.pdf. The law still contains provisions requiring that ballots initially counted by hand on election day also be recounted by hand. (See Section 3154, Subsection (e)(2).) However, no election districts in Pennsylvania any longer use hand counted paper ballots.
Initiating Mechanism:
Close vote margin Voter-initiated Election official-initiated Election Official-Initiated Recounts: If any discrepancies are found during the reconciliation of ballots with voter rolls, or with tally sheets during confirmation of the returns, members of the county board may suggest a recount. See Section 3154 (b) and (d). County election boards are given general discretion to order a recount before the certification of the returns if they believe there to be any discrepancies, in Section 3154, Subsection (e). Timing: The recount must be ordered “prior to the completion of the computation of all of the returns for the county.”
Close Vote Margin:
Less than or equal to .5% Recounts initiated by a close vote margin are available only for candidates or ballot questions “appearing on the ballot in every election district in [the] Commonwealth.” For both, the margin must be .5% or less of all votes cast for the office or question for a recount to occur. See Section 3154, Subsection (g)(1). Timing: The Secretary of State must order such recounts by five o'clock p.m. on the second Thursday following the day of the election. See Section 3154, Subsection (g)(2). The recount must be held by the “third Wednesday following the day of the election” and “completed by noon on the following Tuesday.” See Section 3154, Subsection (g)(5).
Candidate-Initiated Options:
N/A While candidates cannot file a direct request for a recount, they may appeal the “order or decision of any county board regarding the computation or canvassing of the returns of any primary or election, or regarding any recount or recanvass thereof.” During the appeal process, the court may determine that a recount is necessary. See Section 3157, “Appeals to court from decisions of the county board.” Timing: Such appeals must be filed within two days of the order or decision made by the Board of Elections.
Voter-Initiated Options:
Voters may request recounts for offices Voters may request recounts for initiatives/questions Two statutes govern voter-initiated recounts. The first, Statute 3261, governs those recounts requested in counties using paper ballots. The second, Statute 3262, governs those recounts requested in counties using voting machines. While the language in these two statutes are slightly different, it is roughly equivalent, as in both districts using paper ballots and in those using voting machines, voters may petition for a recount in any general, municipal, special or primary election, for either an office or a question. However, recount requests must be accompanied by the signatures of at least three voters per precinct or election district. See Section 3261, Subsection (a) and Section 3262, Subsection (a). (Section 3261 specifies “general, municipal, special, or primary” while Section 3262 says simply “any primary or election.”) The statutes also state that unless the recount initiators are “alledging a particular act of fraud or error” that each recount “shall include all election districts in which ballots were cast for the office in question” and that the initiators' petition “must be filed in each election district.” See Section 3263, Subsections (a)(i) and (a)(ii). Timing: The request for a recount must be filed “no later than five (5) days after the completion of the computational canvassing of all returns of the county by the county board.” See Section 3263, Subsection (a)(1). The timeline for the completion of the recount varies on the voting system used. For counties using paper ballots, recounts may be conducted “at any time within four months” after the election. See Section 3261, Subsection (f). For counties using voting machines, recounts, retabulations, or reviews may be conducted “at any time within twenty days” after the election. See Section 3262, Subsection (c).
Cost for Voter-Initiated Recounts:
Initiator pays set or per jurisdiction fee Initiator pays deposit or bond before recount Payer of costs depends on outcome of recount Voters must either deposit $50 in cash or present a bond of $100 with their petition for a recount for each election district. See Section 3261, Subsection (b) and Section 3262, Subsection (a.1). If “fraud or substantial error” is discovered during the course of the recount and the outcome of the election is altered, the deposit is returned to the petitioners. See Section 3261, Subsection (e) and Section 3262, Subsection (b.1).
Challengers and Observers:
No statutory guidance for recount observers No statutory guidance for recount challengers Pennsylvania statute allows two representatives for each “party or body affected by the recount.” Candidates, if not attending in person, may be represented by an attorney. See Section 3154, Subsection (g)(4). See also Section 3261, Subsection (c). There are no statutes requiring that the recount be conducted publicly in Pennsylvania.
Rules for Determining Voter Intent:
Statutory guidance provided Guidelines for counting voter marks are provided in Section 3063.
Audit Laws:
State has audit laws See: http://www.ceimn.org/state-audit-legislation-reference-guide/pennsylvania.
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