Ziccarelli wins ballot challenge; race tied

By Rich Cholodofsky

Trib Total Media

Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli has pulled into a tie with Democratic incumbent state Sen. Jim Brewster in the race for the 45th District seat.

Ziccarelli, a New Kensington lawyer, was trailing Brewster by 28 votes late Thursday afternoon, but she made up those votes as the tally from the Westmoreland County portion of the district were updated Thursday night. The district also includes part of Allegheny County.

Westmoreland elections officials on Thursday completed initial reviews of about 3,600 provisional ballots cast at the polls on Election Day and started to tally those votes, including 280 from the 42 precincts that are in the 45th state Senate District.

Ziccarelli received 169 additional votes from Westmoreland’s provisional ballots to Brewster’s 141.

A write-in candidate got one vote.

The outcome of the race is far from decided, though.

State Commonwealth Court ruled Thursday evening that 2,349 undated mail-in ballots in Allegheny County ought not to be counted. Her campaign has also asked the court to halt the counting of about 300 provisional ballots that were subject to another challenge she lost Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Meanwhile, a hearing will be conducted today before Westmoreland Common Pleas Court Judge Harry Smail Jr. on a Ziccarelli campaign request to overturn the county Board of Elections decision made this week to count about 250 provisional ballots. In those instances, voters were directed by county employees to sign poll books on Election Day.

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