Fox-Hoeffel race remains undecided

The 14,000 uncounted absentee ballots will be tallied by this week. More than a week after Election Day, the candidates for Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District are still unsure of whether to celebrate or concede. Voters left Republican incumbent Jon Fox ahead of Democratic challenger Joseph Hoeffel by only 10 votes last Tuesday. Officials in the district are still trying to determine who the winner is. Though Veterans Day gave Fox and Hoeffel a day off from awaiting the count, final results are expected by the end of the week. "Right now, the race is considered very much undecided," said a Board of Elections spokesperson. "It's still up in the air, as high as it can go." The spokesperson added that 33 county vote tabulators are now completing the "arduous" task of double-checking all the ballots cast in the race, as well as manually counting the more than 14,000 absentee ballots. To rule out possible fraud or mechanical error, the workers are also checking printouts from the voting machines used in the election against the results reported. The spokesperson added that the timetable for the 13th District race is similar to that for other elections. "This is not a recount -- it's standard procedure in all elections to double-check all of the ballots before final results are announced," she said. "It usually takes about two weeks before we announce those final numbers." In the meantime, however, the candidates can only wait -- and hope for a favorable outcome. Hoeffel campaign co-Chairperson Joann Olszewski said the Democrat is still "optimistically hopeful" about the race. "The voting machines tend to be pretty accurate, so it's the absentee ballots that will decide the election," she added. "This race isn't over until the last precinct is counted." She added that Hoeffel has returned to his job as Montgomery County commissioner while he awaits the results. A Fox spokesperson, meanwhile, explained that the Republican has been keeping to his "normal schedule." "He'll be spending these days doing what he always does -- fulfilling his duties as congressman," she said. She added that Fox is confident the final results will confirm a victory. "Usually there is, in fact, some change between what was announced and what the official count ends up being," she said. "We think the actual results will show our victory to have been by more than just 10 votes."