GAHLER EXTENDS LEAD TO 78: Live at Election Canvass

2:35 p.m. At the Sept. 22 canvass, 50 absentee two ballots and 164 provisional ballots are expected to be revealed in the Republican primary, according to Election Supervisor Kim Atkins. Ninety absentee two and 97 provisional ballots are expected to be revealed to complete the Democratic primary. For non-partisan ballots, 15 absentee two ballots and 40 provisional ballots are expected to be revealed.

The number of total ballots revealed at Thursday's canvass dropped from 576 to 575 because on of the envelopes did not contain a ballot at all, and was mistakenly not being counted among the rejects by the committee.

There were no challenges from any candidates or observers in attendance.

2:32 p.m. In District C of the County Council Republican race, James McMahan received 71 votes to Terence Hanley's 27. McMahan, the incumbent, claimed victory Tuesday night.

2:17 p.m. Republican sheriff candidate Jeffrey Gahler has increased his lead over counterpart Steven Bodway in the primary vote. With 350 additional Republican ballots revealed at Thursday's canvass at the Harford County Board of Elections, Gahler received 101 votes to Bodway's 76. This makes the total votes for each 7,195 for Gahler and 7,117 for Bodway, a difference of 78.

At the Sept. 22 canvass, 50 absentee two Republican ballots along with all of the provisional ballots are expected to be revealed.

Gahler entered the day with a 66-vote lead, which shrunk to 54 after rogue memory card data (see below for details) was added to the pre-canvass totals. The total votes were 7,094 to 7,041 in Gahler's favor after the update.

1:57 p.m. Less than 10 ballots are left to be duplicated before the remaining votes are run through the machine and the totals are posted.

1:41 p.m. Board of Elections Director Jim Massey said that of the 13 aforementioned ballots in question, 11 were approved. The two ballots were not approved because one of them did not have the ballot in the envelope and the other one did not have a signed oath.

Of the 736 absentee ballots being canvassed, 400 are Republican, 330 are Democratic and six are from a third party. Five ballots were pulled from each ballot style, though, and will be revealed at the Sept. 22 canvass. There are 10 Republican, 18 Democratic and three non-partisan ballot styles.

This means that 50 Republican, 90 Democratic and all non-partisan ballots were held, which makes 350 Republican and 240 Democratic ballots that are being tallied today.

1:15 p.m. Workers have returned from their breaks and are duplicating the ballots that the machine would not process. These 64 ballots are then expected to be run through the machine again.

12:24 p.m. Of the 565 ballots being reviewed, 501 were successfully run through the machine. The 64 did not go through for various reasons: marked incorrectly, dirty, ripped and even "spilled coffee" according to the Board of Election workers.

There are issues with some of the e-mail ballots.

12:18 p.m. Ballots are being run through the machines. Jeffrey Gahler appears to have a slight edge, but no official results have been posted.

11:56 a.m. All the ballots have been opened and the board as well as the 10 members of the bi-partisan vote-counting tables have been dismissed for a 20-minute break. Election Supervisor Kim Atkins and other employees of the Board of Elections, as well as some audience members, remain in the room.

Republican sheriff candidate Jeffrey Gahler said that he will endorse counterpart Steven Bodway if Gahler does not win the primary. Bodway said he has not made that decision yet. (See accompanying story.)

11:32 a.m. Tom Myers, who is running for a Board of Education seat in District B, is in attendance. He trails Cassandra Beverley for the second spot in the general election by 131 votes. Ron Eaton leads the district with 1,322 total—39 more than Beverley.

Also in attendance is Derek Howell, who trails Joe Woods by 466 votes entering the canvass. Woods is expected to retain his seat in a race that features no Democrats.

11:18 a.m. The math does not add up (736 total ballots) because there are 13 ballots being reviewed by the board. Among the reasons for review: two were put in the same envelope by a husband and wife, seven were sealed outside of the envelope, two agent ballots were not signed when returned, one did not have the oath signed and a final ballot had an integrity issue.

11:04 a.m. A fifth bi-partisan table has been added to open ballots.

11:04 a.m. Election Supervisor Kim Atkins has passed out the ballots, and the canvassing has begun.

11 a.m. There will be at least 565 ballots revealed today. A total of 736 have been pulled, 158 of which have been removed for the second canvass on Sept. 22.

Election board member Mike Comeau noted that his son, Jerry, is running for a Democratic position, and Mike Comeau will recuse himself from any decisions involving a Democratic race.

Entering the canvass, Jerry Comeau has 6,220 votes for one for the two Democratic Central Committee Male positions. He trails Joseph Smith, who has clinched a spot in the general election, by 1,424 votes, but leads Jerome Foster by 151 votes.

10:57 a.m. Among the rules and guidelines being revealed:

-Anyone in attendance can challenge a ballot canvassed by the committee. The ballot must be unanimously rejected by the board.

-There are four bi-partisan tables (one Democrat, one Republican) who will open the ballots. The ballots will be reviewed by the board in an ongoing manner, as opposed to waiting until the end of the canvass.

-"I'm hoping we're going to be done by a late lunch," Atkins said. She added that if there is a need for a break, the room will be cleared and secured. "There's not that many ballots to be opened for this canvass," she added.

-The audience can ask for a ballot to be reviewed at any time.

10:41 a.m. The updated results that closed the gap in the sheriff's vote were because of votes from Church Creek Elementary and Joppatowne Elementary. At Church Creek, a touch screen was "never put into play," according to Election Supervisor Kim Atkins. Essentially, the election ended for one machine before it began.

At Joppatowne Elementary, a memory card containing votes from unit seven was missing. The Board of Elections was unable to contact the custodian to retrieve the card Tuesday night and had to wait until Wednesday.

"We made every effort to get the memory card," Atkins said. It was eventually retrieved by a bi-partisan team.

10:20 a.m. Results have been released that cut Gahler's lead by 13 votes. Totals are now 7,094 to 7,041 in Gahler's favor.

10:08 a.m. Republican candidates for sheriff Jeffrey Gahler and Steven Bodway, who are separated by just 66 votes after Tuesday's primary, are both in attendance. The winner will face Democratic incumbent Jesse Bane in the general election. There will be an additional canvass for absentee two and provisional ballots Sept. 22. Gahler leads Bodway by a count of 7,091 to 7,025, or 0.33 percent.