Rendell's plan: automatic recount

The plan would be put to use if the presidential race is close.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- Mention to anyone involved with this year's election the likelihood of a Florida-close presidential vote in Pennsylvania and you can almost see the anxiety rising.
A challenge of the Nov. 2 election results would involve demanding ballot recounts precinct by precinct -- among the 9,412 precincts in the state -- in county courthouses wherever the losing side thinks it can knock out enough votes to reverse the statewide results.
Election observers agree the process could take weeks. If the national election ends up turning on Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes, it could delay the declaration of the White House winner until just before the Electoral College meets Dec. 13.
It's such a scenario that Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell hopes to avert with his plan to provide for an automatic recount of all votes cast in statewide elections. But that requires approval by the Republican-controlled Legislature before the election, a prospect that is still up in the air.
Pennsylvania's 2000 election, in which Democrat Al Gore defeated Republican George Bush by nearly 205,000 votes, or 4 percentage points, would not have triggered the provision.
Closeness of votes
The governor's proposal would be activated only by a much closer vote -- any victory margin that is less than 0.5 percent of the total votes. In a presidential election in which 5 million votes are cast in the state, that would mean any race closer than 25,000 votes.
"Heaven forbid we have a 7,000- or 8,000-vote margin and have to do a recount under the current laws of Pennsylvania," Rendell said this week.
As recently as last year, the provision would have been activated by the state Superior Court contest between Republican Susan P. Gantman, a Montgomery County lawyer, and Democrat John J. Driscoll, a Westmoreland County judge. Gantman and Driscoll were among six candidates who were competing for three open seats on the appellate court.
After challenges in a few counties that lasted for 10 weeks, Gantman was ultimately declared the winner -- by 28 votes out of more than 2 million cast for both candidates.
At least 19 other states already have automatic-recount provisions.
Spokesmen for both GOP caucuses say timely passage of Rendell's proposal is possible, even though the House has only six voting days scheduled before the election and the Senate has eight.
Issues that could interfere include the cost of administering a statewide recount -- none has been conducted in the state previously -- and whether or not automatic recounts should be required in close elections for Congress and the Legislature.
"Everybody's going to need to understand precisely how this would work for this to have an opportunity" for passage, said Stephen C. MacNett, general counsel to the Senate Republican caucus.
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