With the election less than 48 hours behind them and the race still up in the air, Kevin Deely is asking supporters for help in a possible recount of the 131st state House race.
Deely, the Democratic candidate, took to social media to ask for help in covering the cost of a ballot recount.
The letter, posted on his Facebook page, reads:
Dear supporters,
I appreciate your patience in waiting for the election results to be posted. Things are changing rapidly and it may take a week or two until we know the final results. Thank you for your support - I am humbled and honored by the support from every person who cast their vote, and I will fight to make sure than each of these votes is counted.
A recount will be expensive. It costs $50 per voting machine - $6100 in Lehigh County, and more in legal fees. If you'd like to make a contribution in this endeavor to protect the democratic election process, we would greatly appreciate it. Visit www.kevindeelypa.com and click on the donate page.
The race could be weeks from certification, said Lehigh County's Director of Elections Timothy Benyo. With all polls reporting, Simmons was leading Deely by 562 votes, according to unofficial tallies. According to reports, the margin could be as close as 167 votes with Simmons ahead.
In district races, a recount is only triggered if three or more voters come forward to challenge results. According to the Lehigh County election office, it would cost approximately $6,100 to recount each machine in the county's part of the district.
Simmons, who thanked voters at Oliver Shakewell's Tuesday evening, called for Deely to concede the race. In a statement to Patch, Simmons writes:
After an extensive study of the vote in the 131st district, it is clear that there is no path to victory for Kevin Deely. Even if every outstanding absentee and provisional ballot went his way he could still not make up the difference. It is time for Kevin to put the people of our district first and concede so we can move forward.
What do you think of the 131st district race? Tell us in the comments!
Also for a statement to be considered defamation it must also be untrue. While Deely has never formally been charged with possession of Marijuana there is public knowledge of a situation connecting Mr. Deely to a case involving Marijuana would likely create a strong enough connection that it would be impossible to say such a statement is defamation. There is also a different standard when it comes to people seeking elected office. Which is why your statement about Mr. Simmons would also likely not considered defamation, unless Mr. Simmons could prove that the defamatory statements were made with knowledge that they were false or with reckless disregard of whether they were false. (Kinda like how Mr. Deely said that Simmons will destroy Social Security and Medicare even though he couldn't as a state Rep, but who knows maybe Deely legitimately didn't know that)
Hundreds of ballots are still to be counted. It's expected to take weeks to finalize the outcome. "I'd say there are between 750 and 1,000 ballots left to count," said Lehigh County election official Tim Benyo. A preliminary tally without those ballots shows Simmons with a 562-vote lead. So I don't know where people are getting the number of 200 outstanding
I'm hoping that Kevin Deely is our next Rep from PA 131!!!
I know Deely's camp has trouble identifying where the 131 actually is, being that Kevin had it wrong on his website until Simmons pointed it out to him during the first debate. FYI the 131 is not the entirety of Lehigh County, only part of it, that is where the 200 number comes from, right from the County.
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