LAWRENCE COUNTY Candidate who lost wants new election

Her opponent contends she missed the deadline to have the voting nullified.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Susan Bongivengo is asking for a special election to clear up questions she has about the 2003 primary election.
Bongivengo, a Democratic candidate for Lawrence County treasurer in the spring, lost the nomination to incumbent Gary Felasco.
But Bongivengo says there may be problems with the tally of the Republican write-in votes. Felasco also was declared the Republican write-in winner.
Bongivengo paid to have election workers open her home precinct box after election results showed she had only two Republican write-in votes. She said several neighbors told her they wrote her in as the Republican candidate. The recount showed she actually had 33 Republican write-in votes in that precinct.
A second election box opened at Bongivengo's request showed she had six more Republican write-in votes than originally counted. Two other boxes opened at Bongivengo's request showed no change in Republican write-in votes.
Now Bongivengo is asking a Lawrence County Common Pleas Court judge to give her permission to file papers to have the election declared invalid.
She missed a 20-day window after the election to file the request. Bongivengo said she didn't believe there was anything wrong with the election results until after the extra 33 votes in her favor were tallied. That was on July 22 -- well after that 20-day window ended, she said.
Possible explanation
Bongivengo said elections Director Marlene Gabriel explained that the error could have occurred because of an election night problem with the ballots.
Workers had to recount ballots in 29 precincts after the machine that tallies votes showed no Democratic votes. The ballots from those boxes were run through tally machines a second time.
Bongivengo said Gabriel speculated that in the confusion on election night with the machine tabulation error, the ballot box could have been taken away from election workers before they finished counting Republican write-in votes.
Felasco's attorney Ed Leymarie argued that Bongivengo missed the 20-day window to file her motion and asked that it be denied.
County Solicitor John Hodge, who represents the county election board, argued that the law requires some illegal conduct be proved before an election can be declared invalid. Hodge said that is not what Bongivengo is contending.
Common Pleas Court Judge Ralph D. Pratt is expected to issue a written decision. He did not say when that decision would be made.