The only problem the county encountered was not being able to locate nine votes.
After about eight hours of recounting, which started around 9 a.m. and concluded around 5 p.m., workers for the Chester County Department of Voter Services recounted 10,377 votes. About 23,000 votes were cast in the race between Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith and Republican Shannon Royer. Fourteen precincts were counted. There are 29 precincts in the 156th District.
Clifford B. Levine, an attorney for the Democratic Party, said after the first day concluded that McIlvaine Smith's lead of 23 votes over Royer has remained steady, and that the figures he saw on Tuesday reinforce his belief that the optical scanning machines the county used on Election Day are reliable.
"The accuracy of the machines has been reinforced by this tedious hand recount," he said.
He added that if no problems occur over the next few days, it is possible the recount could conclude by the end of this week.
"If everything goes like today (Tuesday), we should be able to finish this in the next two days, if we continue at this pace," he said.
Fifteen of the ballots were challenged on Tuesday, and Chester County Common Pleas Court Judge Howard F. Riley Jr. will make a ruling on them this morning.
Lawrence J. Tabas, an attorney for the Republican Party, said after the first day wrapped up that he is concerned about the nine votes that could not be found.
"I'm a little concerned about the missing ballots," he said. "The votes missing should give everyone some pause."
During the lunch break, which lasted about an hour, Levine and Tabas looked for the ballots, but they did not find them. But they did find a ballot that was in the wrong precinct box.
Tabas also said he needs to look at the breakdowns for the precincts and see if McIlvaine Smith's lead has remained the same. He stated it would be "pure speculation" to assume that Royer did not pick up any votes.
The recount occurred in a room in the Government Services Building on Westtown Road. There were three tables, and workers counted one precinct per table. Each party had an observer at the table, while the main party attorneys walked back and forth to observe the process. The media was present, but not the public. Throughout the day, the party officials and attorneys were cordial to each other.
The ballots were broken into different categories: straight Republican Party ticket, straight Democratic Party Ticket, a vote for McIlvaine Smith, a vote for Royer, undervote, meaning the voter did not vote for either candidate, overvote, meaning the voter voted for the candidate in addition to a straight party vote, write-ins and challenges.
Royer came away from Election Day having a 19-vote lead over McIlvaine Smith, until the county counted about 250 absentee ballots that were not counted on Election Night.
Bill Patton, a spokesman for the PA House Democratic Campaign Committee, said he was pleased with how the process was going.
"I think it's going relatively smoothly," he said. "We have a full team here for as long as this takes to make sure that things get done right."
Al Bowman, a spokesman for the Republican Party, explained what would happen if someone could not be seated in Harrisburg by Jan. 2, if the process drags out.
"As soon as everything is resolved, someone would be seated," he said. "The House will continue on in its work. There will be a speaker election."
On Monday, the Commonwealth Court ruled that the recount needs to be finished on Dec. 26 by 5 p.m. On Tuesday, the Chester County Commissioners said that they may approach a judge to try to get that deadline pushed back.
The race was to replace retiring Republican state Rep. Elinor Z. Taylor, of West Goshen.
To contact staff writer Brian Fanelli, send an e-mail to bfanelli@dailylocal.com.