Ziccarelli seeks to have ballots thrown out
By Paula Reed Ward
Trib Total Media
The Republican candidate for state Senate running against incumbent Sen. Jim Brewster has filed a petition in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court to set aside 2,349 undated mail-in ballots.
Unofficial vote totals Friday morning from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties showed Brewster, D-McKeesport, leading by 30 votes.
Nicole Ziccarelli, 38, is a McKeesport native who lives in Lower Burrell. She is an attorney and has a New Kensington-based law practice.
The filing seeks to appeal the decision by the Allegheny County Board of Elections earlier this week to accept what it calls defective mail-in ballots.
The ballots in question, the complaint said, arrived in mailing envelopes that were not properly dated by the voters. While the elections board initially segregated those ballots, the lawsuit said, the board on Tuesday conducted “a special virtual meeting” for their consideration.
“After a short deliberation, which lasted approximately six minutes, the board, by a 2-1 vote, decided to canvass the disputed ballots and directed the manager of the elections division to proceed,” the filing said.
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