Judge tosses absentee-ballot lawsuit in state Senate race

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A judge is dismissing an absentee-ballot lawsuit in a state Senate contest in suburban Philadelphia where the six-term Republican incumbent leads a Democratic challenger by about 75 votes.

A Bucks County judge on Monday threw out the lawsuit filed by Democrat Tina Davis in a bid to force county officials to count what her lawsuit says are at least 216 absentee ballots received after the legal deadline.

The judge's one-page order didn't explain the dismissal, and Davis' campaign says it hasn't decided whether to appeal.

Davis' lawsuit had contended that absentee voters in Pennsylvania can receive a ballot too late to return it before the deadline.

Republican Sen. Robert Tomlinson was seeking a seventh four-year term in office in the Nov. 6 election. Davis is a state representative.