Hello friends,
Patience is a virtue, and it certainly proved true for Democrats here in Tredyffrin. Many of you have been waiting on pins and needles, anxiously clicking “Refresh” on the County’s election results webpage.
Well, you need wait no longer, for the last batch of ballots has been uploaded by Chester County Voter Services. We can now say with certainty that CONGRATULATIONS are in order for Mackenzie Smith, who has flipped magisterial district court 15-1-02 in a stunning upset. Mackenzie’s dynamic campaign and sheer perseverance proved infectious to voters, and we couldn’t be prouder of the race she ran.
Some of you may be wondering “what took so long”? Well, unlike what our GOP counterparts would have the public believe, your County government wanted to make sure that an accurate count was released instead of just a “quick count”.
Below is a statement from Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell and Michelle Kichline:
On Thursday, November 4, Chester County Voter Services staff identified a discrepancy in the counting of mail-in and absentee ballots. In essence, more votes were received than counted. Voter Services determined a software problem caused the discrepancy and has been working with our voting system vendor, ES&S, to resolve the issue.
The County brought this matter to the attention of both the Democratic and the Republican parties on Friday, November 5. Over the weekend of November 6 and 7, Voter Services staff re- scanned all mail-in and absentee ballot envelopes to ensure proper voter credit was applied.
On Monday November 8, the County decided, with both the Democratic and Republic parties agreeing, that the mail-in and absentee ballots in question would be correctly re-scanned and uploaded. The original results will be removed from the system and the correct results will be updated. This process is taking place today, Tuesday, November 9 and is occurring in the presence of observers from both the Democratic and Republican Parties.
Also, on Friday, November 5, Voter Services discovered additional mail-in ballots from a drop- box located at the Downingtown Library had not been counted. Again, both parties were alerted and provided information about the chain of custody (that all ballots had remained secured since collection). These ballots were counted on Monday, November 8.
It is expected most results will be updated to the public reporting website late today, Tuesday, November 9. This should include in-person, mail-in and absentee, provisional, and military/civilian overseas votes.
Importantly, the County Voter Services Staff has been working alongside both the Democratic and Republican parties every step of the way in this election. That will continue to be the case until we reach a verified final tally.
Elections are fundamental to our democracy. The process has been challenging, but working together with both parties, we will ensure that every Chester County legally-cast vote has been counted.
Keep up on all the election results on the Chester County Election Results Page.
On a statewide level, we continue to monitor the progress of Judge Lori Dumas, who has taken the lead for the second seat on Commonwealth Court, though is still within the range (0.5%) of an automatic recount.
CONGRATULATIONS to our 2021 candidates for a Democratic sweep of Tredyffrin Township!
Hans van Mol
Chair
Tredyffrin Township Democrats
