This Herald-Standard article title,
96 disputed ballots rejected
May 26, 2010 04:20 AM By: STEVE FERRIS Herald Standard is such an inaccurate one we have been stumped to know where to start to refute it.
We wonder why the title wasn't reflective of the
reality of what happened on Election Day in Pennsylvania in a North Union Townshipe precinct after a Fayette County Judge of Elections handed out two special election ballots to Primary registered Democrat and Republican voters (one of the ballots was intended only for Independent registered voters and contained only the Special Election face off between three candidates vying for deceased U.S. Rep. John Murtha's vacated seat).
It was only the independent registered voters who legitimately cast the paper ballot they were to use in the special election for John Murtha's vacated Congressional seat who were "disenfranchised."
The Republican and Democrat voters who voted on two separate paper ballots for the same vacated seat of John Murtha were NOT DISENFRANCHISED. The votes they cast using the Primary ballot which contained the block for the 'special election' were counted and tallied.
Some background before we give out the title the Herald-Standard should have used to report the outcome of the Fayette Election Board's decision regarding North Union Township District 4 and the "snafu" which in the end resulted in the disenfranchisement of three independent voters.
The Special Election was claimed to be held within time contraints for doing so by PA Governor Edward Rendell to fill the vacated term of office of deceased U.S. Rep. John Murtha (U.S. District 12). Gov. Rendell decided to have the Special Election for the unexpired term to be held within the already designated PA Primary Election, Tuesday, May 18, 2010.
The county of Fayette utilizes a dual voting system having gone first with Hart InterCivic's Direct Recording Electronic voting machines known as eSlates back in 2006 and later in 2008 adopting as an alternative voting system the hand-marked paper ballot voting system known as Hart InterCivic's eScan.
For the special election (John Murtha's vacated seat), Fayette voters in the 12th U.S. Congressional District had a choice of either the eSlate or the eScan paper ballot.
The DRE ballot contained the Primary candidates for other contests and the special election. Obviously, the paper ballot for Primary voters (registered Democrats and Republicans) contained the Primary candidates for other contests and the three candidates for the special election. Nominees of the Republican and Democrat parties, and the nominee of the Libertarian Party.
Meanwhile, other Party registered or independent voters are blocked from voting in the Primary for Republicans and Democrat candidates in Pennsylvania, known as a 'closed Primary,' but are enabled to exercise their voting rights in the special election.
According to a PA Independent election-day article,
175 People Voted Twice in Fayette County by Eric Berne, the circumstances in North Union precinct 4 were early on laid out as being a mistake on the part of a Fayette precinct Judge of Elections who described briefly what happened over several hours before she realized Primary (registered Democrats and Republicans) paper ballot voters in the special election should not have been given two separate ballots...
...Amber Lilley, judge of elections at the North Union Township fourth precinct, said she mistakenly thought she was supposed to give out two ballots to each individual in her precinct during today's election because the election served as both a primary election and a special election to fill the Congressional seat vacated by the death of John Murtha.
"There were paper ballots, and there were ballots just for the independent voters for the special election, and my understanding, which was mistaken, was that those were special ballots for the special election," she said.
Ms. Lilley said she eventually realized her mistake, but by then 178 people had already voted. Of that total, 120 were Republicans, 55 were Democrats, and three were Independents.
Because of her mistake, the 175 Republicans and Democrats were able to vote twice, once on their full ballot that included the primary and special election, and once on the special election ballot that was supposed to be used only for independent voters.
After realizing she had made a mistake, Ms. Lilley contacted Larry Blosser, the director of the Fayette County Election Bureau, who told her to secure all the ballots that had been cast and re-set the electronic voting machines.
"We've secured the ballots that were voted on the e-scan machine," said Sheryl Heid, election bureau solicitor for Fayette County. "We're going to hold them separately and the election board will hold a meeting to decide what to do with them."
Ms. Lilley said she was elected to the position of election supervisor in November and was not even aware she had won the election until February. Though she took responsibility for the mix-up, she said her training consisted of little more than watching some videos and basic directions from the state Election Commission.
Ms. Lilley is registered as a Democrat, but a Republican poll watcher was also present at the location throughout the day. Ms. Lilley said the poll watcher also misunderstood the directions on the ballot...
See 175 People Voted Twice in Fayette County
http://paindependent.com/todays_news/detail/175-people-voted-twice-in-fayette-county
We followed subsequent articles in the ensuing few days and noted the discrepancy of reported voters and voted paper ballots under scrutiny.
Our posting can be found at Vote PA Message No 4679With the election count finalized came news for the contest under dispute the Election Board chose to retain the special election paper ballot votes cast by Primary registered Democrats and Republicans as cast on the "Primary" paper ballot, and to reject all of the paper ballot votes cast by both Primary registered Democrats and Republicans and those of non-Primary voters or Independent registered voters.
We posed questions about the Election Board Meeting that was reported called to order ON Election Eve, Tuesday May 18, 2010 at about 9 PM in our former
Violation of PA Sunshine Law in Election Board Meeting, posted May 20, 2010. Sadly, to date, none of the questions have been answered.
So while we welcome the honesty when it comes around from our elected officials, right, we have to wonder why the reality of who was disenfranchised was not headlined.
Vincent Zapotosky, chairman of the election board and county commissioners, said the three non-party voters, who were given the correct ballot, were disenfranchised and Lilley apologized to them.
"I want to apologize to the three Independents who didn't get counted. I want them to vote," Lilley said...
http://www.heraldstandard.com/news_detail/article/1220/2010/may/26/96-disputed-ballots-rejected.html
We suggest the more realistic headline:
"3 Independent Voters were Disenfranchised, Election Board Chairman Admits." We also believe the situation should have been handled far differently.
All of the Primary voters should have equally been disenfranchised. If it's "OK" to disenfranchise three individual voters who were registered independent (so the registered Democrats and Republicans who voted twice can have the ballot they should have used exclusively counted), then it should be OK to disenfranchise the same registered Democrats and Republicans who used two ballots and actually cast two votes in the same special election contest when only one vote was due to them.
One person, one vote. That's the basic tenet of what are supposed to be American-style elections.
But that didn't happen in North Union Township's 4th district/precinct polling place.
Registered Democrats and Republicans got to vote twice in the special election. These voters actually handed in two separate ballots with the same special election contest marked.
It's been reported some of the Democrats and Republicans left the second ballot blank. Well that's just wonderful, why didn't they apprise the Election Judge what was happening if they chose not to mark a second paper ballot?
Had the first such Democrat or Republican who was given a second 'special election' ballot refused and made an objection, and somebody called the election office, the serious mistake would have been caught before even one double vote was cast.
Shockingly from the first to the last voter during the time period when this went on, some six hours, that's nearly half of the voting day, not one paper ballot voter, not one observer, not one poll worker, not one other voter who may have seen more than one paper ballot go to a Primary voter raised any QUESTION whatsoever about what was going on???
The voters who voted twice should not have been later rewarded with enabling their votes to count in the special election.
We wonder why the Election Board members think it's ok to disenfranchise three indpendent registered voters smack them down in order to allow the Primary ballot for registered Republicans and Democrats to stand - fraud free...
Read it and sleep. That's apparantly what the community of Independent and Majority Party voters have done. Not one outcry that three Independent voters were disenfranchised, and that fact comes straight from the chairman of the board of Fayette County Commissioners and the Election Board!
Obviously, as the vote of Election Board members was "unanimous" all members are OK with the disenfranchisement of three voters so the registered Democrats and Republicans can have their choice counted.
We also wonder where are the voting integrity organizations and the Brennan Center and the like on anything related to this incident at one lone precinct?
Missing Inaction, it appears.
Net the Truth Online
96 disputed ballots rejected
May 26, 2010 04:20 AM By: STEVE FERRIS
Herald Standard
The Fayette County Election Board on Tuesday unanimously voted to reject 96 paper election ballots for the 12th Congressional District special election cast by voters in North Union Township's District 4 precinct due to an election judge's error.
After many people voted at the precinct polling place during the May 18 primary and special election, it was discovered that the election judge handed out separate paper ballots for the special election to 93 Democratic and Republican voters and three voters not affiliated with either party.
Only members of political parties other than Democratic or Republican were supposed to receive a ballot with only the special election candidates on it. However, first-time Judge of Elections Amber Lilley handed out the non-party ballots with the special election candidates and the Democratic and Republican ballots, which also had the special election candidates on it, to the 96 voters.
Fayette County Judge Nancy D. Vernon ordered a count of the paper ballots to determine if those voters voted twice.
In the special election, Democrat Mark Critz defeated Republican Tim Burns and Libertarian Demo Agoris to serve the remaining term of the late Rep. John Murtha who died in February.
Critz, who used to work for Murtha, beat Burns by more than 10,000 votes in the district, which encompasses Greene County and parts of eight other counties, including Fayette County. Agoris finished a distant third.
Advertisement At Tuesday's board meeting, Fayette County Election Bureau Director Larry Blosser said only the three non-party voters should have been given the special election ballot.
Citing no way to differentiate between the special election ballots cast by the three non-party voters and the 93 Republicans and Democrats, the board rejected all 96.
Vincent Zapotosky, chairman of the election board and county commissioners, said the three non-party voters, who were given the correct ballot, were disenfranchised and Lilley apologized to them.
"I want to apologize to the three Independents who didn't get counted. I want them to vote," Lilley said.
Election board member and county Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink said the board's decision will be forwarded to Vernon.
In other business, the board rejected 13 provisional ballots and accepted all or parts of 19 others.
In many of the rejected cases, Independent or non-affiliated voters incorrectly voted for Republican or Democratic candidates. In some cases, the voters were registered to vote in other counties and in one case the voter was registered in Ohio.
http://www.heraldstandard.com/news_detail/article/1220/2010/may/26/96-disputed-ballots-rejected.html
Also see
Judge orders count of paper ballots after possible duplicate votes
May 19, 2010 01:32 AM By: AMY REVAK
Herald Standard
Fayette County Judge Nancy D. Vernon ordered a count of paper ballots cast at one North Union Township precinct late Tuesday to determine how many voters potentially cast more than one ballot for the special election for the 12th Congressional District.
A hearing on the issue was called after it was discovered that Judge of Elections Amber Lilley had handed out duplicate paper ballots for the special election, according to Sheryl Heid, solicitor for the Fayette County Election Bureau.
The mistake was discovered and corrected after 178 people had voted at the North Union Township No. 4 polling place, and the machine was shut down after 223 people had voted. Because voters have the option of either using the e-Slate electronic voting machine or using a paper ballot that is scanned on the e-Scan machine, it was unknown exactly how many voters used paper ballots, and therefore could have overvoted, Heid said.
Heid explained that Lilley handed out two paper ballots to each of those voting at the polling place, which could have led to some people voting twice in the special election.
Advertisement The special election includes the Democratic candidate Mark Critz, the Republican candidate Tim Burns and the Libertarian candidate Demo Agoris. Heid said the Democratic and Republican ballots had the special election listed on them, and the other ballots that listed only the special election should have only gone to voters of other political parties. She said three people in other parties voted in the precinct, all by paper ballot.
Larry Blosser, head of the election bureau, said a count of the paper ballots could be made to determine how many people possibly voted twice for the special election.
Vernon ordered the election board, which includes Commissioners Vincent Zapotosky and Angela M. Zimmerlink and attorney Mark Mehalov, along with attorney James T. Davis, representing Critz and attorney Gary Altman, representating Burns, to count the ballots and then report to court, when she would make a decision.
The count and decision were unavailable late Tuesday.
http://www.heraldstandard.com/news_detail/article/1220/2010/may/19/judge-orders-count-of-paper-ballots-after-possible-duplicate-votes.html
also see
Fayette ballot snafu probed
May 20, 2010 01:20 AM By: AMY REVAK
Herald Standard
The fate of dozens of extra ballots incorrectly cast at one Fayette County precinct for the special election for the 12th Congressional District will be decided by the Fayette County Election Board and then returned to the court of Judge Nancy D. Vernon.
The mistake, which was halted after nearly 100 voters cast paper ballots at the North Union Township Precinct 4 polling place, occurred when first-time Judge of Elections Amber Lilley incorrectly handed out duplicate ballots for the special election.
Only members of political parties other than Democratic or Republican were supposed to receive a ballot with only the special election candidates on it. However, Lilley handed out both the separate sheet with the special election candidates and the Democratic and Republican ballots, which also had the special election candidates on it, to all voters.
During a hearing Tuesday night, Vernon ordered that the election board, which includes Commissioners Vincent Zapotosky and Angela M. Zimmerlink as well as attorney Mark Mehalov, along with attorney James T. Davis, representing the Democratic Party and the Mark Critz campaign and attorney Gary Altman, representing the Republican Party and the Tim Burns campaign, to make an official tabulation of the paper ballots.
Critz defeated Burns by more than 10,000 votes throughout the district, according to unofficial results. A third candidate, Libertarian Demo Agoris finished a very distant third.
The count of the paper ballots cast at the precinct was made after 10 p.m. and then returned to Vernon, who ruled that the election board make a further determination of the paper ballots in question and return to Vernon for further consideration.
Zapotosky said Wednesday that a review of the paper ballots in question revealed that a total of 93 Republicans and Democrats were given duplicate ballots for the special election and three people of other parties also were given ballots.
Advertisement
Zapotosky said, upon reviewing the ballots, it was determined that all the Democrats and Republicans voted on both the ballot they were supposed to use and the extra ballot. A determination must be made on what to do with the extra ballots, which would include three that were cast by people of other parties. There is no way to know which candidate or candidates the voters selected.
Zapotosky said there was not one "under vote," meaning that every voter that was given two ballots voted for the special election on each of them.
He said the election board will likely meet next week to determine how to handle the ballots in question.
Zapotosky said there should not have been a special election on the day of the primary.
"Under normal circumstance, the error wouldn't happen," Zapotosky said. "Special elections are just that - special. It was confusing and it should be about preserving the integrity of the process even if it costs extra money."
Gov. Ed Rendell decided to hold the special election on the same day as the primary to save money.
The special election was necessitated by the unexpected death of U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, earlier this year. Critz formerly worked for Murtha.
The district includes all of Greene County and portions of eight other counties, including Fayette.
Larry Blosser, director of the Fayette County election bureau, said having a special election on the same day as a primary hasn't occurred since he has worked for the county election bureau since 1984.
Blosser said that Tuesday was "just a hectic day for the judge (of elections)."
http://www.heraldstandard.com/news_detail/article/1220/2010/may/20/fayette-ballot-snafu-probed.html
