Presidential Vote Recount Ordered in Chester County

A recount of the presidential vote tally in Chester County has been ordered by the county's Board of Elections in most precincts.

According to the Daily Local News, the order came Thursday to recount ballots in 143 of the county's 228 precincts. The recount effort was pushed by supporters of Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

The vote to recount was reportedly unanimous. According to Pennsylvania law, a county must conduct a recount if at least three people in a precinct request one.

“This is crazy,” Chester County Commissioner Michele Kichline told the Daily Local. “This isn’t going to change the results of the election. It is very frustrating for me to have to put everybody through this. But it is what it is. We follow the law.”

Donald Trump won Pennsylvania by a count of 2,912,941 to Hillary Clinton's 2,844,705. However, Clinton soundly defeated Trump in Chester County, 141,694 to Trump's 116,147. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson won 7,924 votes in the county, while Stein won 2,253.

Voter turnout was up significantly in numbers in 2016 within Chester County. 272,580 voters, or 76.90 percent, hit the polls this year, compared to 253,009, 74.8 percent, during the 2012 presidential election.

Patch file photo.