Election Day in Pennsylvania off to rocky start as court contest runs into problems

Election Day in the Keystone State is off to a rocky start as officials in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, reported problems with votes being recorded in the state’s Superior Court elections.

The county said that the only issues were with voting in the race for retention to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, involving Judges Jack Panella and Victor Stabile. The issue appears when a voter opts to vote “Yes” for one candidate and “No” for the other candidate, according to a statement from the county.

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“It appears that when a voter selects a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’ for one of the candidates for retention to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, the selection is recorded on the paper ballot and on the machine for the other candidate,” the statement said. “The issue is limited to the retention of Superior Court Judges, and is only an issue when recording the voters for when a voter selected a ‘Yes’ for one candidate and a ‘No’ for another candidate.”

The county said that it has notified all poll workers of the issue and that a “paper receipt” will record voters’ selections for the race.

“The Elections Division of the County of Northampton notified all poll workers by text message that they are to instruct voters before the voter enters the voting booth that there is an issue with the recording of their vote for the candidates for retention to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, that the paper receipt will record their selection for retention to the Pennsylvania Superior Court one candidate to the other,” the statement said.

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Voters in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania are deciding on several court elections, including for the state Supreme Court.

The race between Republican Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Carluccio and Democratic Superior Court Judge Daniel McCaffery will be to replace the late Democratic Justice Max Baer. Currently, the court has a 4-2 Democratic majority, meaning a GOP victory would not flip overall control of the high court.