Additional votes give incumbent commissioner larger lead
While the close race for Fayette County commissioner remains tight, additional ballots counted Thursday gives the incumbent Republican commissioner a slightly wider margin.
The counting of additional ballots Thursday allowed incumbent Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink to remain at the forefront of the commissioners race over her challenger Republican David R. Lohr by 18 votes.
The vote count resulted after a hearing last week when the county election board deemed 13 provisional ballots and 29 absentee ballots to be eligible for the bureau to count.
After ruling on the ballots, the election board posted the names and addresses of the absentee voters and permitted a three-day challenge period.
After no challenges were made, Larry Blosser, election bureau director, began the automated count.
After the 29 provisional votes were tallied, Zimmerlink’s unofficial count moved from 8,840 to 8,858 and Lohr’s from 8,828 to 8,843.
The figures were increased minimally after the counting of absentee ballots.
According to unofficial figures, Zimmerlink now has 8,864 votes to Lohr’s 8,846 votes.
The candidates continue to await a ruling from Judge Ralph C. Warman about the counting of an additional 16 ballots.
On Wednesday, Lohr, through his attorney, David J. Mongomery, argued that ballots discovered at the Uniontown post office also be considered eligible.
According to attorney Sheryl Heid, solicitor for the election bureau, the ballots must be in the election bureau office no later than the Friday before the election.
Blosser testified that employees checked with the post office prior to the Nov. 4 deadline and was informed that no ballots were at the location.
Later, it was discovered 10 ballots had been turned in before the deadline and subsequently added to the absentee ballots.
Other ballots requested to be included by Lohr were because of a Nov. 5 Pittsburgh postmark, he claimed might have been delayed in their delivery to Uniontown.
Warman has not issued a ruling in the matter. A spokeswoman in the judge’s office said it isn’t known when a ruling would be made.
Blosser speculated that should Warman allow additional votes to be counted, a challenge process would take place.
“Right now, it is unclear where we go from here,” he said.
“We have to wait until Judge Warman makes his ruling and a decision is made by the election board what we are to do next.”
Neither Zimmerlink nor Lohr offered comment about the new vote figures.
A hearing scheduled by the election bureau for Monday to hear challenges to the vote count Thursday has not been canceled.