HARRISBURG — The status of a million-dollar election recount in the state's Superior Court election hinges on the decision of one of the nine candidates.

Pittsburgh lawyer Temp Smith, a Republican, said Wednesday he plans to announce today whether he will insist on a recount for the last of four open seats on the court.

Secretary of State Pedro Cortes has said a recount, which would cost taxpayers as much as $1.3 million, could begin as early as Monday. If a recount is necessary, Cortes must issue the order by Friday.

A State Department tally based on unofficial returns from all the state's 9,316 precincts showed Allegheny County Judge Judy Olson, Tioga County lawyer Sallie Mundy and Chester County Judge Paula Ott — all Republicans — accrued the three highest vote totals in the statewide balloting on Nov. 3.

Democrat Anne Lazarus, a Philadelphia County judge, was in fourth place, followed by three others who trailed her by less than one-half of 1 percent of the total votes cast.