Luzerne County will partially certify April 23 primary results, minus contested race

Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.

Luzerne County is proceeding with partial certification of the April 23 primary election results so the approval of other vote tallies is not held up due to pending litigation in the Republican race for state representative in the 117th House District.

County election board members carried out the first certification signing — minus the 117th District — on Friday.

No date has been set for the board’s certification vote, but it will be next week. County Election Board Chairwoman Denise Williams said the certification meeting will be publicly advertised.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo had announced that final election certification could not be held by Monday’s deadline because of challenges over provisional ballots in the 117th District.

Crocamo said Friday the administration discussed the matter at length with legal counsel and determined the first certification signing could proceed Friday.

Three votes separate 117th District Republican contenders Jamie Walsh and incumbent Michael Cabell, with Walsh in the lead, according to unofficial results.

Cabell has filed an appeal in the county Court of Common Pleas seeking the tallying of one provisional ballot and the rejection of another. He also sought tallying of write-ins, although it’s unclear if any were cast for Cabell or Walsh because their names appeared on the ballot.

A three-judge panel set a 4:30 p.m. Tuesday deadline for all legal briefs and responses in the matter and promised a timely ruling. There’s also a window after that ruling for potential appeals to Commonwealth Court.

Alisha Hoffman-Mirilovich, executive director of the Wilkes-Barre-based In This Together NEPA, sent county officials a communication expressing concern about a certification delay past the May 13 deadline, saying no other races are affected by the pending court proceedings in the 117th District.

Hoffman-Mirilovich said there is “no legal or procedural justification to withhold certification of races that are not implicated by the court disputes” in the 117th District.

In another 117th District race update, the latest unofficial results show there is no Democratic primary nominee. No Democrats appeared on the ballot, and no write-in winners emerged. A total 270 write-in votes were cast, and an individual would need 300 to secure the party’s nomination and appear on the November general election ballot.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.