November 6, 2020

While vote counting has reached its designated end time end, it may take longer to get a certified count. Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, sent a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf asking for a full audit of the counts before the certification of any results, according to a press release Cutler sent.

According to that release, “…an audit is needed because of a litany of inconsistencies as a result of court actions and Department of State guidance, including the dismissal of signature requirements for mail-in ballots, certain counties allowing for curative measures, counties not following the United States Supreme Court ruling requiring ballots received after election day to be segregated, and more.”

Counting in the counties was to have stopped at 5 p.m. today. But they still have to consider provisional votes. Delaware County is to do that beginning Saturday, and Chester County will do that Monday.

As of 6 p.m. today, Friday, Nov. 6, Chester and Delaware County websites show Republican Craig Williams with a 634-vote lead over Democrat Anton Andrew in their race to replace Steve Barrar as the representative for the 160th Legislative District. Williams has a combined 19,991 votes to Andrew’s 19,357.

An even closer race in Chester County for the 158th Legislative District shows incumbent Democrat state Rep. Christina Sappey with a 430-vote lead over the man she defeated in 2018, former state Rep. Eric Roe. Chester County shows Sappey with 18,975 votes to Roe’s 18,545.

If current numbers hold up, there will new a new state senator for the 9th Senate District. Combined numbers show Democrat John Kane with a 5,318 lead over incumbent state Sen. Tom Killion in that race. The numbers are 77,865 for Kane, 72,547 for Killion.

 

PennDOT has announced the following road projects, which are weather-dependent and could affect drivers in the greater Chadds Ford area during the week of Nov. 7 to Nov. 13. Motorists are urged to allow extra time if they are traveling through one of the construction zones. Work schedules are subject to change.

• Roadway rehabilitation continues to cause lane closures on Unionville Road, between Manor and Chapel drives, through Nov. 20.

• Utility work on Gay Street, between Garfield and Walnut streets in West Chester, will cause daytime lane closures from Oct. 27 through Nov. 20.

• Culvert replacement continues to close Route 926 between New Street and Route 202 in Thornbury Township through mid-December. During the closure, Route 926 motorists will be directed to use Route 202 South, Brintons Bridge Road, and Birmingham Road. Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone. Commercial Trucks will be directed to use 202 South, Route 1 South, and Route 52 North.

• Pole installation continues to cause daytime lane closures on Route 1 in Pennsbury Township, between Fairville Road and Joshuas Way, through Nov. 13.

• From Sept. 14 through Nov. 20, roadway rehabilitation will force daytime lane closures on Unionville Road between Manor and Chapel drives in East Marlborough Township.

• Construction on a project to rehabilitate the bridge carrying Kaolin Road over the west branch of Red Clay Creek in Kennett Township is scheduled to last through Feb. 21 of 2021. Kaolin Road will be closed and detoured 24/7 between Marshall Bridge Road and Round Hill and Kaolin Road motorists will be directed to use Route 41 North, Route 1 North, and Route 82 (Union Street) Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone.

• The Concord Road bridge over Green Creek will be closed and detoured between Valentine Drive and Foulk Road in Concord Township. Work is expected to be completed in early February 2021. During the closure, Concord Road motorists will be detoured over Valley Brook Road and Smithbridge Road. Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone.

 

As has been said, “It ain’t over until it’s over.”

What might feel to some as “the vote count that never ends,” should end sometime today, Friday, Nov. 6., or tomorrow. County voter service departments are to count all mail-in votes that arrive by 5 p.m. today, as long as the envelopes have postmarks dated no later than 8 p.m., Nov. 3, election day.

According to Chester County’s website, all in-person, mail-in, and absentee ballots received by 8 p.m. on election day have been counted. However, counting will resume today at 9 a.m. “This work may include the precanvass, canvass, computation, provisional ballot review, and tabulation,” the site said,

Delaware County’s website indicated that its numbers include 424 of 428, or 99.07 percent, of all county precincts.

Going into today’s final count, Republican Craig Williams has a 669-vote lead over Democrat Anton Andrew in the race for state representative in the 160th Legislative District. Williams has a 2,735-vote lead in Delaware County, while Andrew has a 2,066-vote lead in Chester County. The winner will replace state Rep. Stephen Barrar who is retiring at the end of this legislative session.

In the election for the 9th Senatorial District, Democrat John Kane has a lead of 5,265 votes over incumbent Republican Tom Killion. Kane is leading in both counties. In Delaware County, he’s ahead by 4,971 votes and, in Chester County, his lead is 294 votes.

Both the 160th Legislative District and the 9th Senatorial District include parts of Delaware and Chester counties.

In the race for state representative in the 158th Legislative District — which includes the western end of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District in Chester County — incumbent Democrat Christina Sappey has a narrow 430-vote lead over her Republican challenger and former state Rep. Eric Roe. The current total is 18,975 votes for Sappey, 18,545 for Roe. Sappey unseated Roe in 2018, beating the then incumbent by nearly 1,700 votes.

And the counting continues.