Karen Shuey: Primary 2022: David McCormick challenging some votes cast in Berks

May 24—A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate is challenging a group of ballots cast in Berks County in last week's primary election.

David McCormick has filed a challenge with the county's board of elections asking that provisional ballots cast after 8 p.m. not be included in the county's total vote count.

McCormick is in a heated contest with celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz to become the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. The race and the razor thin lead that Oz holds has drawn the attention of the nation.

Stephanie Weaver, public relations officer for the county, said those ballots are being segregated and not included in unofficial vote totals as of Tuesday afternoon.

McCormick's challenge stems from an election day issue in Berks that led to voting being extended by one hour.

Shortly after voting began at 7 a.m., several precincts from around the county reported issues with the new electronic poll books the county had put into widespread use for the first time. The issues led the county to decide to shut down the electronic poll books and instead utilize backup, paper poll books.

Polling locations did not have the paper poll books on hand, meaning county workers had to deliver them to each of the county's 202 precincts.

While poll workers were told not to let the switch impact voting, some poll workers and voters reported that voters were turned away at the polls and asked to return later or instructed to fill out provisional ballots.

The situation led the county's Republican and Democratic committees to join forces and petition the county court to extend voting by one hour. That request was granted by Judge James L. Lillis, who ordered polls stay open until 9 p.m.

Lillis' order instructed poll workers to allow voters who arrived at precincts between 8 and 9 p.m. to fill out provisional ballots.

Weaver said Tuesday that a total of 215 such provisional ballots were cast: 144 by Republicans, 62 by Democrats and 9 by independent voters.

Those 215 votes are the ones being challenged by McCormick.

First Assistant County Solicitor Cody Kauffman said the matter is scheduled to be heard during Thursday's election board meeting.

There is also a second issue involving McCormick that could complicate the results statewide.

McCormick filed a petition in state Commonwealth Court on Monday to make sure all undated ballots received on time are counted in counties that are, so far, refusing to count them.

His petition follows a May 20 ruling by a federal appeals court that permitted mail ballots in Lehigh County to be counted despite not having the required date on the exterior of the ballot.

In an appearance Monday on a conservative Philadelphia radio talk show, McCormick insisted "every Republican vote should count" and said his campaign believes the federal court decision is binding on counties.

Oz is fighting McCormick's petition, and the national and state Republican parties are taking his side in opposing McCormick's effort.

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Department of State has issued guidance to counties to count mail ballots with undated signatures but in separate counts amid the legal challenge.

Oz led McCormick by 992 votes out of 1,341,037 ballots reported by the state as of Tuesday morning.

The race is close enough to trigger Pennsylvania's automatic recount law, with the separation between the candidates inside the law's 0.5% margin. That could take until June 8.

Oz and McCormick are vying for the nomination to take on Democratic nominee John Fetterman in a contest that is expected to be among the nation's most competitive races this fall.

It's not clear how many mail ballots that lack a handwritten date have been received by all 67 counties. Although McCormick trails the vote count, McCormick has been doing better than Oz among mail ballots.

Weaver said Berks received 645 mail ballots that did not include dates. Of those, 507 were cast by Democrats and 138 were cast by Republicans.

Berks closer to completing vote count

The undated mail ballots and provision ballots cast after 8 p.m. are two categories of votes that have still not been included in Berks' vote totals.

Other votes have been added, and the county updated its election results Monday evening.

The county updated results on its election website to reflect the counting of nearly all the mail ballots that were cast. The initial results posted on the website the day after last Tuesday's election included only mail ballots received before May 16, meaning those that came in on May 16 or election day still had to be tallied.

The vote totals now include nearly 71,896 votes cast in person on election day or through mail ballots. Of those, 57,752 were cast in person, and 14,144 were by mail.

The party breakdown of the votes counted so far show the Republican primary was more popular than the Democratic version.

A total of 42,424 Republicans cast ballots, while 29,348 Democrats voted.

Despite the update, vote totals for the county are still not complete.

Along with the contested provisional and undated mail ballots, there are still a number of mail ballots that need to be manually entered into the system, around 30 overseas and military ballots and about 600 other provisional ballots.

Those votes are being processed, and county officials did not provide a timeline for when they will be added to the total vote count.

Results are deemed unofficial until certified by the respective county board of elections and the Pennsylvania Department of State. The date for state certification is June 6.

Here's where the local contested primary races stand:

Republican primary races

4th Congressional District

Christian Nascimento has won the race to be the Republican nominee and earned a chance to square off with U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean this fall.

The Comcast executive from Montgomery County has received 47,033 votes. Daniel Burton Jr., a Lancaster County insurance agent, received 21,227 votes.

Dean, a Montgomery County Democrat who is running for her third term, ran unopposed. She has received 95,947 votes.

The 4th Congressional District includes all of the central, eastern and northeastern parts of Berks as well as a portion of Montgomery County.

6th Congressional District

Guy Ciarrocchi has won the four-way race for the Republican nomination and earned a chance to square off with U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan this fall in the general election.

The former president of the Chester County Chamber of Commerce has 23,271 votes. Businessman Steve Fanelli followed in second place with 21,051 votes, real estate agent Ron Vogel finished in third place with 15,532 votes and businesswoman Regina Mauro trailed in fourth place with 10,473 votes.

Ciarrocchi is now turning to his race against the incumbent Houlahan, who was unopposed in the primary. Houlahan, a Chester County Democrat seeking a third term, received 71,063 votes for her party's nomination.

The 6th Congressional District includes all of Chester County and parts of Berks.

24th Senatorial District

A state House of Representatives member has a big lead in the Republican nomination race.

Tracy Pennycuick has received 20,948 votes. David Moyer, a Washington Township supervisor, has received 8,765.

Pennycuick appears poised to face off in the general election this fall against Democrat Jill Dennin, who holds a sizeable lead in the Democratic primary.

The 24th Senatorial District has long been represented by Sen. Bob Mensch, who announced this year that he would not be seeking reelection. The district includes parts of eastern Berks and northwest Montgomery County.

5th Legislative District

Republican voters are sticking with Barry Jozwiak.

The incumbent lawmaker has received 5,145 votes in the contest for the party nomination. His challenger, the Berks County Republican Committee-endorsed Dave Golowski, trails with 3,701 votes.

The primary win for Jozwiak, who has represented the district since 2016, likely assures him a fourth term because there were no Democratic candidates appearing on the primary ballot.

The district includes parts of western Berks.

124th Legislative District

Schuylkill County businessman Jamie Barton came out on top in the three-way race for the Republican nomination.

Barton received 6,616 votes. Hamburg real estate agent Jill Saunders came in second place with 2,226 votes, and Windsor Township resident Elle Rulavage finished third with 898 votes.

Barton will go on to face health care consultant Tina Burns, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination, in the general election this fall. Burns has received 3,697 votes.

The post has long been held by Rep. Jerry Knowles, who announced this year that he would not be seeking reelection. The district includes parts of western and north central Berks and eastern Schuylkill counties.

Democratic primary races

24th Senatorial District

A former Boyertown School Board member is the Democrat's choice to run in the fall general election.

Jill Dennin has earned 17,287 votes. Emanuel Wilkerson, a former Pottstown School Board member, had earned 6,105.

It appears Dennin will face off this fall against state Rep. Tracy Pennycuick, who won the Republican primary.

The 24th Senatorial District has long been represented by Sen. Bob Mensch, who announced this year that he would not be seeking reelection. The district includes parts of eastern Berks and northwest Montgomery County.

129th Legislative District

Reading City Councilwoman Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz appears to have won the race for the Democratic nomination.

Cepeda-Freytiz has received 2,330 votes. Her opponent, Reading School Board member Mark Detterline, trails with 1,915 votes.

She will likely compete against the Republican nominee, Barry Llewellyn, who ran unopposed, in the general election. The retired teacher has received 3,240 votes.

The state House district includes parts of Reading and Spring Township as well as Sinking Spring, West Reading and Wyomissing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.