Harrisburg, Pa. (AP) - A photo finish among four candidates for state Superior Court appears likely to trigger an automatic ballot recount.

Lawyers with the Pennsylvania State Department on Wednesday were studying the law to determine how it should be applied in a close race for at least one of the four seats up for grabs in Tuesday's statewide election.

State law says an automatic recount is triggered whenever the victory margin is less than one half of one percent of the votes cast. But officials say it's unclear how the law should be applied to results involving more than two candidates.

Four candidates appear to be within the margin covered by the automatic recount law: Democrats Anne Lazarus, Robert Colville and Kevin McCarthy, and Republican Temp Smith.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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