There will be borough council contested races in Jim Thorpe, Lansford, Lehighton, Palmerton and Weatherly as a result of write-in vote activity that took place in the Primary Election.

Thirteen persons won Democratic nominations and 24 persons won Republican nominations via the write-in voting results, which are unofficial until they are certified by the county's board of elections this week. To win a nomination where there is a shortage of candidates, a person must obtain 10 write-in votes and their result must be higher than another person who meets that criteria.As a result of the write-in vote activity, here is how some races are now set for the General Election in November:Jim ThorpeThere are four four-year seats on the council to be filled. In the Primary, Democrats Thomas Highland, Joanne Klitsch, Gregory Strubinger and Paulette Haupt were all unopposed and won Democratic nominations.Klitsch and Haupt won Republican nominations with 22 and 16 votes, respectively, while Darren Behan received 11 write-in votes and will also appear on the GOP ballot.The result is five persons will be running for four positions, two of which (Klitsch and Haupt) will be on both ballots.LansfordThere are three four-year seats on the council to be filled. In the Primary, Democrats Len Kovach and John Williams were unopposed and won Democratic nominations. Martin S. Ditsky, a Republican, was the lone candidate on the GOP side and won one of the three nominations that were up for grabs.Colin Jones received 51 Democratic and 16 Republican write-in votes to win nominations on both tickets.The result is four persons will be running for three positions, with Jones to be the lone candidates on both tickets.LehightonThere are three four-year seats on the council to be filled. In the Primary, Democrats Scott Rehrig and Joseph Flickinger were the only two candidates, while Republican candidates were John Wayne Bird and George Kogut. They won their respective nominations.Helen Torok was a successful write-in candidate on both tickets, collecting 16 Democratic votes and 14 Republican votes.The result is five persons will be running for three positions, with Torok to be the lone candidate on both tickets.PalmertonThere are four four-year seats on the council to be filled. In the Primary, two Democrats, Kris Hoffner and Jason Behler, were the only candidates on that ticket. Four Republicans won nominations in a five-person race. They are Richard Nothstein, Michael Ballard, Jereme Barkanic and Gerard Alfano.Ballard and Nothstein were successful Democratic write-in vote recipients with 23 and 21, respectively.The result is six persons will be running for four positions, two of which (Nothstein and Ballard) will be on both tickets.WeatherlyThere are four four-year terms on the council to be filled. In the Primary, three Republicans were the lone candidates on the ballot and all won nominations. They include Cecelia Gower, Norman Richie and Harold Farrow.Joseph D'Andrea was a successful write-in vote candidate on both tickets, winning a Republican nomination with 50 votes and a Democratic nomination with 48 votes. Robert Chippi was also successful on the Democratic side, collecting 45 write-in votes.The result is five persons will be running for four positions with D'Andrea having the advantage with his name to appear on both ballots.BowmanstownThere were two successful write-in candidates on the Democratic side of the Bowmanstown ballot, but the results do not set up a contested race in November.Four four-year terms are to be filled. There were only two candidates on the ballot, Democrats Robert Moyer and Burdell Steigerwalt.While they won party nominations, so did Darren Thomas and John Domant, with 15 and 10 votes, respectively.The result is two Democrats and two Republicans will be running for the four seats that are up for grabs.Uncontested racesMeanwhile, several persons who face no opposition won Democratic or Republican nominations for the respective positions they were seeking, the results of which are that they now appear on both ballots or are unopposed by someone from the other party.The successful write-in vote recipients in apparent unchallenged races is as follows:Democratic write-insJoseph O'Gurek Jr. received 29 write-in votes for judge of elections in Summit Hill's District 53. He is unopposed.Aurelia DeMatto received 28 write-in votes for inspector of elections in Summit Hill's District 53. She is unopposed.Linda Jemo received 18 write-in votes for judge of elections in Weatherly's District 61. She is unopposed.Republican write-insIrene Makowiec received 16 write-in votes for tax collector in Banks Township. She was unopposed on the Democratic ticket and her name will now appear on both ballots.Joseph Clark received 46 write-in votes for supervisor in Banks Township. He defeated Walter Bobowski, 241-31, to win the Democratic nomination and his name will now appear on both tickets.Patty Moro received 13 write-in votes for judge of elections in Banks Township. She is unopposed.Deanna Cunfer received 33 write-in votes for supervisor in East Penn Township. She was unopposed on the Democratic ticket and her name will now appear on both ballots.Sara Keiser received 16 write-in votes for tax collector in Franklin Township. She was unopposed on the Democratic ticket and her name will now appear on both ballots.Kim Ginopolas received 12 write-in votes for tax collector in Kidder Township. She was unopposed on the Democratic ticket and her name will now appear on both ballots.Cynthia Baade received 10 write-in votes for a six-year term as auditor in Lehigh Township. She is unopposed.Ronald Walbert received 17 write-in votes for supervisor in Lower Towamensing Township. He was unopposed on the Democratic ticket and his name will now appear on both ballots.Holly Hausman Sell received 12 write-in votes for the two-year term on the Palmerton Borough Council. She was unopposed on the Democratic ticket and her name will now appear on both ballots.Harmony Smith received 10 write-in votes for inspector of elections in Summit Hill's District 52. She is unopposed.Theresa D'Andrea received 10 write-in votes for inspector of elections in Weatherly's District 58. She is unopposed.