Harrisburg, Pa. — Unofficial results in the Nov. 5 general election race for U.S. Senate have triggered a legally required statewide recount according to Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt.
Senator Bob Casey and Dave McCormick have vote totals within the one-half of 1 percent margin that triggers a mandatory recount under state law, the PA Department of State said in a news release.
As of Wednesday, the unofficial returns for the U.S. Senate race submitted by all 67 counties show the following results for the top two candidates:
Robert P. Casey Jr. – 3,350,972 (48.50%)
David H. McCormick – 3,380,310 (48.93%)
Once counties finish counting their ballots, they must begin the recount no later than Wednesday, Nov. 20. They must complete the recount by noon on Nov. 26 and must report results to the Secretary by noon on Nov. 27. Results of the recount will not be published until Nov. 27, according to the news release.
The Department estimates that the recount cost will exceed $1 million of taxpayer funds.
This is the eighth time the automatic recount provision has been triggered since the passage of Act 97 of 2004. In the four cases in which the recount was carried out, the initial results of the election were affirmed. Those recounts and the costs for each were as follows:
2022 primary: Oz vs. McCormick, Republican race for U.S. Senate, $1,052,609
2021 general: Dumas vs. Crompton, Commonwealth Court, $1,117,180
2011 primary: Boockvar vs. Ernsberger, Democratic race for Commonwealth Court, $525,006.70
2009 general: Lazarus vs. Colville vs. Smith, Superior Court race, $541,698.56
For more information about the legally mandated automatic recount procedures, see the Department’s directive on this topic.
Update on outstanding ballot totals
As of Wednesday afternoon, county election officials reported there are 60,366 uncounted provisional ballots and 20,155 uncounted mail-in and absentee ballots. That 80,521 total includes all ballots for which county boards of elections have not yet made a final resolution regarding their validity or eligibility to be counted.
As of the issuance of this release, the Department’s election returns page reflects the unofficial totals that counties have reported. These numbers will change beginning Thursday morning, Nov. 14, as counties continue to canvass provisional ballots and otherwise count ballots. These changes are unrelated to the recount.
