New Numbers But Questions Remain Surrounding Special Election
A complete manual count of ballots by Chester County’s Voter Services has produced a new numerical result in the special election of Tredyffrin Township supervisor, but the Township’s Democratic Committee believes questions remain.
Despite initial election results on May 17th showing Molly Duffy the winner of Tredyffrin’s special election, problems with ballot scanners called into question the accuracy of the vote counts. Voter Services moved directly to a manual count of all paper ballots on Monday, May 23, witnessed by representatives of both candidates. The hand count showed a three vote lead for candidate Mike Heaburg, reversing Duffy’s 40 vote lead on election night. A total of 61 additional ballots were counted by Voter Services. While the overall vote split almost 50% to 50% between Heaburg and Duffy, the 61 additional ballots split 85% (52) for Heaburg and 15% (9) for Duffy.
A number of questions remain unanswered….
Molly Duffy Leading, Republicans Want More Proof
After a soggy but exciting election day, Molly Duffy leads in the special election for the remaining term of a Tredyffrin at-large supervisor seat. Startled Republicans are asking for more proof. The result spiced up the primary election season, which otherwise saw all the party-endorsed candidates moving smoothly to their November showdown.
Molly Duffy expressed her appreciation:
“Professionally I pay attention to energy and energy conservation, and I’m amazed at the human energy that goes into a campaign. Thank you so much for making this an extraordinary May election! I’m of course grateful for the people who voted for me. But even those who didn’t vote for me were out on a rainy day participating in the democratic process, which is good for all of us. I’m confident the vote count will be affirmed quickly, and I’m looking forward to turning my personal energy toward serving everyone as supervisor.”
Read more on election turnout, why each vote matters, a verifiable paper trail for balloting, and good results for all TTDem candidates.
Teacher Pay Agreement, Kudos to Karen Cruickshank
School Board President Karen Cruickshank expressed her gratitude to the Tredyffrin-Easttown Education Association (TEEA) for their offer of a 6-month pay waiver for the first half of the 2011-12 school year. The agreement freezes all compensation at 2010-11 levels and helps close next year’s $3 million budget gap. Speaking about negotiations, teacher union president Pete DePiano said, “Karen was the glue, she was the key to all this.” Read more on the pay agreement and Karen’s bi-partisan support for re-election to the school board.
Setting Record Straight on Blog Citation
TTDems recently helped candidate Molly Duffy and her campaign committee with the preparation of a campaign postcard mailed to residents.
Community Matters blogger Pattye Benson took issue with using her blog as the source for a quote from Molly’s opponent. On her blog Ms. Benson has written harsh commentary, implying our candidate’s campaign information was incorrect and misused material.
Here we set the record straight, with citations and including full text of TTDem Chair Dariel Jamieson’s explanatory letter to Ms. Benson, published only in excerpted form on the blog.
Sorry for the tedium, but we want TTDem supporters assured there was no unfairness or trickery in Molly Duffy’s campaign efforts.
May 17 Sample Ballots
We cannot stress enough how important simply showing up at the polls is for the May balloting. Turnout will be particularly critical for Molly Duffy’s effort in the special election for township supervisor. Actual voting can be accomplished in a few minutes, and we make life even simpler by providing sample ballots in advance. Read more to select your precinct and click for sample ballot pdf.
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