Man Indicates County Didn't Purge Voter Rolls more

Appeal dismissed in vote recount case
July 31, 2009 03:51 AM TEXT SIZE By: JENNIFER HARR
Herald Standard

Commonwealth Court dismissed an appeal filed by a Fairchance man who wanted Fayette County officials to recount votes in two elections he lost in the May primary.

Robert "Ted" Pritchard Sr., who lost in elections for magisterial district judge and constable, argued that the voter removal provisions of the Voter Registration Act allowed for such a request. Last month, Fayette County Judge Gerald R. Solomon indicated that the provisions of the act did not support his requests, and dismissed his suit, prompting Pritchard to appeal. Commonwealth Court agreed with Solomon's findings.

"(I)n making his argument, Pritchard does not recognize the difference between the relief he sought in the petition and the voter removal requirements," wrote Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Rochelle S. Friedman.

"In his petition, Pritchard did not seek an order mandating that Fayette County comply with the voter removal provisions of the Voter Registration Act. Rather, Pritchard sought an order to compel the board to perform a recount, to ascertain whether anyone voted fraudulently in the election, to ascertain whether anyone tampered with the voting machines, to ascertain whether the machine modules were correct and to ascertain who had access to the authorization code," she wrote.

Pritchard vowed to continue appealing the matter.

Advertisement "I will appeal it to the Supreme Court, and I will take it to the U.S. District Court. As soon as I get the opinion, I'll be filing a notice of appeal," he said.

Commission Chairman Vincent Zapotosky said he is pleased with the ruling.

"The Commonwealth Court is a very respected judicial body, and I have all the confidence that (an appellate court) will stand by their ruling," he said.

Pritchard ran for magisterial district judge against incumbent Magisterial District Judge Randy Abraham and Senior Magisterial District Judge Brenda Cavalcante.

Abraham bested both on the Democrat ticket, and defeated Cavalcante on the Republican ticket as well, virtually assuring a victory in the fall. Pritchard did not cross-file, and only appeared on the Democrat ballot.

On the Democratic ticket, Pritchard, who has run for other offices over the years, received 63 votes. Abraham received 3,012 votes and Cavalcante received 970 votes.

The court also denied Pritchard's motion to stop the county from certifying the election results, but granted his motion to throw out the county's brief because it was not filed in time.

Pritchard, who unsuccessfully ran for county sheriff and dropped out of a race for Congress, has announced his plans to mount a bid for lieutenant governor.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/news_detail/article/1220/2009/july/31/appeal-dismissed-in-vote-recount-case.html

Pa. county says nix candidate's 'no vote' appeal
July 29, 2009 08:56 AM The Associated Press

A southwestern Pennsylvania county wants the Commonwealth Court to nix the appeal of a failed district judge candidate who just can't believe he received so few votes.

Robert Pritchard Sr., of Fairchance, claims fraud is the only explanation for his exceedingly low vote total in the Fayette County general election. Pritchard got just 63 votes for district judge in November, and zero in two of 19 precincts. The winner, incumbent District Judge Randy Abraham got 2,900 votes and another challenger got 957.

Advertisement Pritchard contends people could have voted illegally because the county allegedly doesn't properly purge dead or unregistered voters from its rolls.

But county attorneys say it's difficult to imagine that problem _ even if it existed _ would have resulted in such a lopsided result.

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Information from: Herald-Standard, www.heraldstandard.com

http://www.heraldstandard.com/news_detail/article/1220/2009/july/29/pa-county-says-nix-candidates-no-vote-appeal.html

Attorney seeks to have election appeal dismissed
July 29, 2009 03:52 AM TEXT SIZE By: JENNIFER HARR
Herald Standard

An attorney for Fayette County wants the Commonwealth Court to dismiss the appeal filed by a Fairchance man who claimed there was fraud in the primary because he lost in two races.

Assistant county solicitor Sheryl R. Heid indicated that Robert T. Pritchard Sr.'s petition "did not allege irregularity in the Fayette County primary election + other than the lack of votes for (him) in the election."

Pritchard ran for magisterial district judge and constable in Fairchance. In the district judge race, he received 63 votes - and no votes in two of the 19 precincts. He claimed that there was no way he could receive zero votes in two precincts, and indicated that he believes voter fraud was afoot.

Incumbent Magisterial District Judge Randy Abraham received 2,900 votes. Challenger Senior Magisterial District Judge Brenda Cavalcante received 957 votes.

"Both Randy Abraham and Brenda Cavalcante have previously served Fayette County as magisterial district judges for many years. Both received a substantially greater number of votes than (Pritchard). It is extremely difficult to imagine that additional purging of the voter registration records would materially affect the outcome of the magisterial district judge election regarding the appellant," Heid wrote.

Pritchard alleged that because the county did not purge its registration records, people could have "impersonated" dead or infirm voters or those who had moved away. He asked a Fayette County judge to order a recount.

Advertisement Judge Gerald R. Solomon denied Pritchard's petition, prompting the appeal.

Heid indicated in her response to Pritchard's appeal that the county "continues to work to meet the standards set forth in the state and federal Voter Registration Removal acts in regard to the updating of the voter registration lists."

The county's response indicated that Pritchard did not have his initial petition signed by at least three other qualified voters, nor did he allege fraud, error or willful violation of the election code.

Heid wrote that there has been no finding by the state election bureau or the state Attorney General's office that Fayette County is not in compliance with the act.

"On the contrary, Fayette County continues to move forward in this ongoing process of updating voter registration roles. With the mobility of voters, the registration roles are constantly being updated due to name changes, deaths and residency changes," she wrote.

Heid responded that Pritchard has said he "suspects" that the purging of the voter registration was neglected. That is not enough of a reason to order a recount, she indicated.
The county's brief was due on Monday, and Pritchard has claimed it was not filed on time and asked that it be stricken. County officials, however, have indicated that it was filed on Monday.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/news_detail/article/1220/2009/july/29/attorney-seeks-to-have-election-appeal-dismissed.html

Pritchard attempting to take case to state court
By the Herald-Standard
08/04/2009
Updated 08/03/2009 10:15:40 PM EDT
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Days after an appeal to have votes recounted in the magisterial district judge's race in the Fairchance area was thrown out, the man who made the request asked the state Supreme Court to hear the case.


The state Supreme Court does not have to hear the request from Robert "Ted" Pritchard Sr.

Pritchard lost a three-way race for district judge and a constable race in Fairchance, and has claimed that potential voter fraud could have caused the loss.

Pritchard ran for magisterial district judge against incumbent Magisterial District Judge Randy Abraham and Senior Magisterial District Judge Brenda Cavalcante.

Abraham bested both on the Democrat ticket, and defeated Cavalcante on the Republican ticket as well, virtually assuring a victory in the fall. Pritchard did not cross-file and only appeared on the Democrat ballot.

On the Democratic ticket, Pritchard, who has run for other offices over the years, received 63 votes. Abraham received 3,012 votes and Cavalcante received 970 votes.

Pritchard claimed that he could have won both the district judge and constable race, but indicated that the county did not purge the voter rolls, and people could have impersonated voters who were dead, infirm or had moved away.

A Fayette County judge threw out his request in June, and the Commonwealth Court denied his appeal of that order last week.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20354508&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468520&rfi=6