125977750_web1_JOHN-FETTERMAN

Texas’ Lt. Gov. offers voter fraud bounty; Pa.’s Fetterman offers him Luzerne County case

No. 1 Alabama-LSU, No. 5 Texas A&M-Tennessee postponed

Another 1,164 provisional ballots were accepted by Luzerne County&rsquo;s Election Board during its bipartisan adjudication review Tuesday, according to county Election Director Shelby Watchilla.
				These additions bring the county&rsquo;s total Nov. 3 general election vote count to 152,612, which equates to a turnout of 69.1%.
				Approximately 788 provisional ballots are awaiting election board review, Watchilla said. The board is set to reconvene at 9 a.m. Thursday in the county&rsquo;s Penn Place Building to continue this adjudication, which is open to party observers, candidates and the general public.
				Also pending board review are 455 overseas military ballots received by Tuesday&rsquo;s 5 p.m. deadline, Watchilla said.
				In total, 3,648 county voters cast provisional ballots Nov. 3. Provisional ballots are marked by hand at the polls and counted last because the board must verify these voters are properly registered and did not already submit a mail ballot that would nullify the provisional one.
				Based on the number of provisional ballots accepted or pending review, the election board has rejected 882 to date, Watchilla said.
				Some were voided because the voters were not registered or the county already had received mail ballots from them.
				The board has also operated under the legal interpretation that provisional ballots &mdash; like mail ones &mdash; must be inside both a secrecy envelope and then an outer envelope containing the voter&rsquo;s signature in order to be counted.
				However, county Republicans are arguing the board should count provisional ballots missing outer envelopes, privacy envelopes or a voter signature on the outer envelope.
				County assistant solicitor Michael Butera said Tuesday the board will consider the party&rsquo;s argument and provide a response. If dissatisfied, Republicans will have the opportunity to appeal the board&rsquo;s decision to the county Court of Common Pleas, Butera said.
				Butera said he does not believe the board has legal grounds to count provisional ballots if they are missing either of the two envelopes or not signed by the voter, citing a state Supreme Court ruling barring acceptance of mail ballots that do not meet those conditions.
				Also, Butera said the outer envelopes contain the voter&rsquo;s name, which is needed to verify the voter is registered and did not already cast another ballot by mail.
				Updated unofficial election results incorporating Tuesday&rsquo;s vote additions have been posted online at <a href="https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/PA/Luzerne/106501/web.264614/#/summary" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">luzernecounty.org</a>.
				The county results do not factor in 255 mail ballots received in the three days following the Nov. 3 election. County officials are segregating those ballots and won&rsquo;t add them to vote tallies until the U.S. Supreme Court decides if it will issue an opinion on whether they should be counted, officials said. The state Supreme Court had ruled the ballots could be counted.

Review shows Luzerne County turnout above 69%