Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Says No Automatic Recount Triggered By Primary Election

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortés announced today that the margin of victory in the statewide races did not trigger any automatic recounts in the May 19 primary election.

Under Act 97 of 2004, if the margin of victory is less than one half of one percent of the total number of votes cast for any statewide race or ballot question, an automatic recount would be required in all 67 counties.

"The winning margins were sufficient in the statewide judicial races that I have certified there will be no automatic recounts," Cortés said. "The counties did a tremendous job in reporting unofficial results to us in a timely manner."

The voter turnout rate was 19.08 percent. A total of 1,532,756 ballots were cast statewide, out of 8,032,363 registered voters.

Primary election voters were selecting party nominees for three statewide races, including three open seats on the state Supreme Court as well as one seat each on the Superior Court and Commonwealth Court.

In addition, the Department of State released statewide voter participation figures and reported that its newly redesigned election returns website recorded nearly 3 million hits in its first four hours.

The redesigned election returns website was launched on Tuesday, May 19, in time for the primary. In the four hours after the polls closed, the website clocked 2,953,060 hits.

"The changes to the website have made it easier than ever for users to find precise numbers," Cortés said. "We are extremely pleased that so many people were able to put the website to good use and look forward to continued improvement of this in-demand service. We encourage users of the site to give feedback on the re-design and additional features desired."

Unofficial voting results can be found by clicking on the graphic at the center of the Department of State's home page at www.dos.pa.gov.

MEDIA CONTACT:   Wanda Murren, (717) 783-1621

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of State

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