The Lycoming County Board of Elections approved rules for conducting a hand count of two statewide contests from the 2020 election and determined that the count will take place between Jan. 9 and Jan. 31.

The county commissioners, acting as the board, were split in their vote, with commissioners Scott Metzger and Tony Mussare voting in favor of the rules, while commissioner Rick Mirabito voted no.

The first thing addressed by Forrest Lehman, director of Voter Services, in his presentation to the board was determining which contest, in addition to the presidential, would be part of the count.

It was decided, with a 2-1 vote split along party lines, that the Auditor General contest would be the second office to have the results counted by hand.

The rules suggested by Lehman set guidelines for observers and who would supervise the process. Actual procedures will be determined at a meeting later this month.

The cost for the count was not mentioned at the meeting, but following adjournment, Metzger indicated that it would be discussed at the next Election Board meeting.