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Friday, March 22, 2024

NorCo Voting Registrar Discusses Preparations For Presidential Primary

This year's Presidential Primary is scheduled for April 23, 2024 in Pennsylvania. With slightly more than a month to go, Northampton County Council's "Election Integrity Commitee" finally kicked off its inaugural meeting yesterday afternoon. This tardiness is a clear demonstration why part-time elected officials whose role is oversight should leave county administration to administrators. Nevertheless, the meeting provided some insight into what steps election officials are taking to make sure those who vote in person can do so without worrying whether it will be counted. All Council members except John Brown and Ken Kraft were there. 

Elections Registrar Chris Commini explained some of the steps his office is taking.

1) Training. - Training is mandatory for all 780 plus elections workers.  Thus far, 18 classes have been conducted for judges of elections (JOE) and machine operators, with 10 more classes scheduled in April for minority and majority inspectors, as well as clerks. 

2) Privacy screens. - Each of 154 precincts will get two privacy screens for voters who are filling out emergency or provisional ballots. 

3) Emergency paper ballots. - In the last election, when a flaw was discovered with the Express Vote XL, elections officials were temporarily directed to have voters fill out what are called emergency ballots.  Each precinct was only supplied with about 20 and quickly ran out. Provisional ballots were then used, but those supplies were quickly exhausted as well. As a result, some voters had to be turned away and were told to return later. 

Commini said the state requires that there be emergency ballot for 20% of each precinct's voters. His office will prepare them for 30% of the voter registration. Each JOE will be supplied with 100 emergency ballots. If those supplies are exhauster, a runner will bring additional ballots. In the general election, a higher percentage of emergency ballots will be prepared. 

4) Mail-in Ballots (MIBs). - They will be contained in larger envelopes so that voters are more likely to recognize them. Voters who fail to sign or who provide an incorrect date with their return will be notified and have until 8 pm on Election Day to cure any defect. 

Both Council members Jeff Warren and Kelly Keagan spoke positively about MIBs. Keegan stated she receives emails when her ballot is returned, which gives her peace of mind. Warren stated his own mother es able to cure a defect on her MIB when she neglected to fill in the date. 

5) Drop Boxes. - Two drop boxes were added in Washington and East Allen Tp in the slate belt and northern tier, which is more spread out than the rest of the county. A drop box has been added in south Bethlehem because the current drop box on the north side is only open until 4 pm. All drop boxes are under 24-hour video surveillance and must be in a secure building. They must be accessible (ADA) to any voter. 

6) Key dates. - Voter registration deadline is April 8, 5 pm. Applications for MIBs must be received by April 16, 5 pm. Those ballots must be returned by 8 pm on election day. Postmarks do not count. They must be brought to the elections office, not the voting precinct.  They can surrender their ballot at the precinct on election day and vote by machine if they wish. The primary is closed. Independents are unable to vote in a Democratic or Republican primary, with the exception of referendum questions. If an Independent appears and decides he wants to become a Democrat or Republican, it's too late. On April 23, polls will be open from 7 am until 8 pm. 

7) Logic and Accuracy (L&A) Testing. Each machine is subjected to public L&A testing. No date has been established until a ballot challenge is finalized in court. Dates will be set up in early April.. Parties will be notified as well as any person who requests notice. 

8) Precinct cell phones. - Instead of basting out text messages, which happened in the 2023 election, the elections office will have 18 people on hand to speak personally with JOEs. Commini said most problems occur when setting up the machines and epollbooks. Before the phones go out, they will all be updated, and all judges will be asked to phone in to indicate it actually is operable. 

9) The state has established a $45 million election integrity fund for the counties. This year, NorCo will receive about $1.15 million. This can be used to purchase equipment, required polling place material, rent, payments to poll workers, purging voter rolls, training costs, etc.

Questions: 

1) Can someone appear at the polls and insist on voting by paper or provisional ballot? - Commini stated that the standards for provisional or emergency ballots are set by the state and that a person may vote that way only under limited circumstances, such as when a machine goes down or his eligibility is called into question. 

In my view, this is incorrect and inconsistent with the federal Help America Vote Act, which established provisional voting precisely to ensure that everyone's voice is heard. Commini stated that if someone insists on voting by paper or provisionally, "We're not going to turn you away."

2) What about people who drop off multiple ballots in a drop box? If someone sees this, it can be reported, and the surveillance video will be examined. In 2020, then GOP chair had watchers posted at various drop boxes, one of whom complained that she saw a person dropping off multiple ballots. According to Exec Lamont McClure, the person was identified. Investigation revealed she was a Republican. She was not prosecuted, and my guess is that she probably was dropping off votes for her family. "In America, we don't go looking for crimes. We're not setting up a sting." But he said nothing prevents watchers from reporting possible violations. 

3) Are elections offices targeted with vexatious Right-to-Know requests? - After the 2023 election, there was a massive number of requests. Exec Lamont McClure said Right-to-Know abuse could be the subject of an entire meeting. He acknowledged that folks "have a right to know what we do," but the number of requests coming in is burdensome. 

4) What is the role of the elections commission in a home rule county? - Michael Vargo, Solicitor to the Elections Commission, will respond to that question at a future meeting. 

5) Does the elections office need anything? - Commini said he could use more space. He has 8 people permanent. There will be numerous temps over the election season. He complimented Deputy Amy Hess for recruiting a large number of poll workers.  

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please, fed and state authorities look for cries all the time with stings. Another pompous like pronouncement from Lord Lamont that is meaningless.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the drop off of multiple ballots: It irks me that I can't gather the ballots of all voters in my household or of my neighbors' households and drop them in a secure, monitored drop box but I can gather them and drop them at the Post Office or put them in my own mailbox.

Anonymous said...

Trust is earned. NorCo squandered the trust it had earned. I don't trust our elections to be administered properly or fairly. I don't believe what happened in the last two elections was an accident. No independent investigation was ever conducted. The executive and his administration are rabid partisans. Dirty dirty dirty. And no end in sight to this.

Anonymous said...

The public still needs a better explanation about those Bar Codes attached. No human looking at a Bar Code can determine if that Bar Code accurately says what they think it does. A common example of this problem can be seen everyday at the supermarket.

T Marshall said...

No requirement to show a valid ID. What a sham. In this state I have to show my ID to buy beer or cough medicine but not to vote. I showed my ID last time I voted, and the lady said she didn't need it. I told her you should. SHAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

TRUMP: I need money fast!
HENCHMAN: Why, Boss?
TRUMP: To pay my greedy lawyers and cover my legal penalties, idiot!
HENCHMAN: Oh. Well, where are we going to get money for that, Boss?
TRUMP: We need to steal campaign donations.
HENCHMAN: That sounds illegal, Boss.
TRUMP: It won't be if we take over the RNC!
HENCHMAN: Ok, Boss. Right away, Boss.

Trump's invitation to donors prioritizes his legal bills over RNC
https://www.newschannel5.com/trump-s-invitation-to-donors-prioritizes-his-legal-bills-over-rnc

Anonymous said...

Glen Geissinger is like a creeper hanging around meetings about elections mumbling vague threats.

Anonymous said...

How pathetic was it that Munsey pushed that very sweet widow forward to say what he didn’t have the balls to say himself.

Anonymous said...

What is up with President Lori Vargo-Hafer’s new attitude. She must have got the word from the AFL of CIO.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"The public still needs a better explanation about those Bar Codes attached"

I am sick and tired of that horseshit objection, which has actually been litigated and was rejected by Judge Diamond, We use barcodes for everything these days, including your damn credit and debit cards. Even your patient bracelets when you have your nervous breakdowns. You have been given excellent explanations, but just choose not to read them. Read Judge Diamond's opinion.

Bernie O'Hare said...

" I don't believe what happened in the last two elections was an accident. No independent investigation was ever conducted."

It's pretty clear what happened in both elections. In 2019, 30-40% of the machines were improperly aligned and the company failed to fix that at the factory. In 2023, there was a (1) a coding error followed by (2) a human failure to catch that error at L&A testing, followed by (3) the human error of having insufficient emergency ballots on hand. In neither botched election was there any allegation of fraud. Nio candidate challenged the certification. We know what happened. I would have no confidence in any "investigation" by people who do not know what they are doing and who understand nothing about elections. This matter was internally investigated. Had there been credible allegations of fraud, it would have been investigated by the DA or AG.

Anonymous said...

Glen Grossinger needs to worry about the righteous rage of Brother Steve who will bring down upon him the might of Lady Justice.

Anonymous said...

Was Munsey at the meeting with his N95 on looking like a homeless person ?

Anonymous said...

So you have a poll worker a hard time over something beyond their control.
You’re a stereotype.

Anonymous said...

The Democrats should be embarrassed that they have such a weirdo conspiracy theorist as their Party chair.

Anonymous said...

"I would have no confidence in any "investigation" by people who do not know what they are doing and who understand nothing about elections. This matter was internally investigated."

Bullseye. Nothing to see here! It was investigated internally by the victorious and negligent party. Thanks for making sense of this. Perfect sense. WTF.

Anonymous said...

I don’t care how barcodes are used, or by who. Barcodes are pre-programmed ahead of time, and could be re-programmed at any time during use. That’s risky.

Anonymous said...

Dr. April Niver has to work to keep Matt in tinfoil.

Anonymous said...

Do Ramblings readers know that Al Schmidt, our Secretary of State, is a registered Republican with a deep history in nonpartisan good government programs? With so much national attention on PA, if NorCo was trying to pull wool, Schmidt would go in attack mode.

Anonymous said...

Don’t pick on Matt those messages he’s hearing really our from the CIA.

Anonymous said...

Glen Greasinger is persecuting Steven Lynch in court. Please pray for Steve.

Anonymous said...

Glen Guessinger is the mastermind of Kerry Myers (R).

Anonymous said...

It’s Glenn Geissinger, and his expertise is losing elections.

Anonymous said...

Yes yes. He spells Glenn with the extra "n." But he still can't compete with Ron Heckman's studly mane. Fact.

Anonymous said...

"How pathetic was it that Munsey pushed that very sweet widow forward to say what he didn’t have the balls to say himself."

Says the person making cheap shots as an anonymous commenter on a blog.

Anonymous said...

When will Lee Snober re-take the NCRC ? Soon I hope.

Anonymous said...

Once The Lynch Gang is acquitted they will bring a massive civil suit against Geissinger and the NCRC. Get the popcorn ready.

Anonymous said...

Biden will win. Casey wins and so does Wild. So long as Dems vote for a month and R's on one day, the outcome is preordained. Glenn may be an easy target but there's nothing he can do. So long as the Orange Jesus and his faithful are in charge it's over.

Anonymous said...

She’s Munsey’s shadow and not nice .
She has no clue about by rules and running an agenda. She/Munsey run 3 hour meetings. Not a great environment.

Anonymous said...

And you are missing the important point

Anonymous said...

1:06
What are you talking about? Republicans always vote no matter what? They just don’t understand why they are voting the wat they do.

Anonymous said...

Let’s not forget that ALL parties can vote the same amount of time. You Trumpsters CHOOSE vote on one day to show “solidarity”? Or that it’s the only “right way”? Joke is on you! I love the ease of dropping my ballet into a secure box and not stand in line with conspiracy theorists like you!

Anonymous said...

Happy Lynch Syndrome Day, everyone! St. Luke's University Health Network reminded me of this special day today! Naturally, with a name like that, the day is all about colorectal cancer awareness. Which totally makes sense! Wishing you and yours a blessed Lynch Syndrome Day!

Anonymous said...

Attack Lynch all you want but it is MacClure and his lackey Barron von Footinmouth that are screwing the county employees. Especially if you are not in a union, then he wants to punish you to appease the union bosses that fund him.

Anonymous said...

As alluded to before, one problem we have in America is the way our election results are analyzed. Put simply, “if your preferred candidate was announced as the winner, you don’t want to discuss the workings beneath the surface.”

No matter how shocking or suspicious that result was, supporters of the victor prefer to “clam up,” or loudly deny any objections. Much of this is simply human nature. Yet, a problem for maintaining justice. Flaws can be identified, but only if brought out and open to consideration.

Anonymous said...

No matter how prepared they are if ESS screws up it’s a problem. McClure has no one else to blame now. This will be his screw up or is he handing all this over to the new director? He needs someone else to put the blame oni.

Anonymous said...

March 23 7:19AM. The only shocking win that's occurred recently was Trump's. He beat "inevitable" Hillary. No Hillary supporters contested the result. No one said Trump was illegitimate. No liberals broke into the Capitol. Stop pretending that what MAGA does is normal behavior. It is not. Putting middle finger stickers on your car is not normal behavior. Putting up flags on your house with a presidential candidate holding a bazooka is not normal. Contesting elections is not normal in America, and it is only something MAGA does. Biden crushed Trump because Trump was a terrible president who divided the country. That's what happened, no matter how much you and Doug Mastriano and Kari Lake pretend otherwise.

Anonymous said...

7:17AM: I also wonder, when did it become normal to adulterate the American flag with red lines and blue lines and that sort of political stuff? It's just the American flag... stars and stripes. It means unity. MAGA puts machine guns on it and skulls and stupid tough guy stuff.

Anonymous said...

Why all the fuss about the 2020 election, 7:17? Citizens in Wisconsin, Georgia, Minnesota, Arizona, Colorado, Virginia, and even Pennsylvania can give you those answers. Buckle up for 2024!

Anonymous said...

12:11 Just don't complain and moan when Biden wins again, ok? Trump needs the middle voter, and he doesn't have a chance with her.