A meeting of NorCo's Elections Comm'n that was supposed to take place at 3:30 pm had to be canceled because the Zrinski administration, which really runs our elections system, failed to post the agenda on the county's website as required by the Sunshine Act.
This error was brought to the attention of an Elections Comm'r by Matthew Flower, a NorCo GOP committee area chair.
It was canceled just four hours before it was scheduled to start.
On his Facebook page, he rhetorically asks, "If our county administration cannot competently schedule a public meeting, why should we believe they can take on the complexity of additional pop up voting, satellite election offices and expanded drop box use?"
He also set up the nifty little flyer you can see as part of this blog.
And that's the problem. The administration runs elections when that role should fall to the elections commission under both our Home Rule Charter and state law.
Despite the clear language of both state statute and our county constitution, all the elections commission really does is act as a rubber stamp for decisions made by the administration. They do serve one useful purpose. These unelected volunteers are usually the whipping boys (and girls) whom voters can yell at when the count administration screws up an election, which is now becoming something of a routine.
In the county commissioner form of government, the elections board consists of the county commissioners, and this makes sense. It is the county commissioners who both administer the county and pay the bills for election expenses.
It is time to amend the Charter so that the Elections Comm'n actually does the job it is required to do. Its members should consist of Council members who are not seeking election or re-election and the Executive, with one spot reserved for a member of the minority party. If it is an election year for the Exec, her spot should be replaced by a person appointed by the Courts or Council.
Then and only then will the elections commission actually be able to fulfill its statutory role.
And yes, I thin k Council members should weigh in on pop-up elections, which strike me as something far too easy to manipulate by conducting them in areas where you know your preferred party is going to vote. Moreover, given that the county has managed to send out the wrong mail-in ballots in two consecutive elections, it should master that first before branching off into something else. And yes, that decision should come from the Exec AND council, which is, after all, the governing body.
Agree with BO. We say we have “Commissioners” but do not have a true “Commissioner Form of governance”. The current 5 member commission is charged with administering the system of elections and registering of voters under applicable law according to the Home Rule Charter, but beyond that, there is no manual for operation. The County has had too many mishaps regarding placement of names on ballots, incorrect mail in ballots to a ward, undercounted votes in 2019, and election machine error in 2023 with yes/no votes for judicial race. The program needs a tune up before this next election hits.
ReplyDeleteKeystone Kop TZ strikes out again.
ReplyDeleteWho’s the Director of Administration ? Don’t they oversee elections in Northampton County ?
ReplyDeleteYes, that is within their brief
DeleteLook in the mirror NORCO citizens. You own this.
ReplyDeleteIncompetence that occurs year after year indicates purposeful cheating, They're not even trying to fix this. What incompetent, dishonest, slimy moron is responsible for this?
ReplyDeletePlease prove the cheating in Northampton County. Thank you.
DeleteThis administration is incompetent. They talk a great game but that’s about it.
ReplyDeleteIt’s passed time for local voters to finally admit, our elections processes, not just in Northampton County, but throughout all of Pennsylvania need to be cleaned up, made more transparent, and obviously more secure.
ReplyDeleteBased just on the amount of non-eligible, yet still registered and on the books, people recently revealed by a federal examination, Pennsylvania election results deserve suspicion and greater scrutiny.
All of this “fuzzy” data, here and in other states, came out in press releases last week. Naturally, most of the left-leaning news media, including our failing Morning Call failed to cover the stories. No wonder citizens remain in the dark and quickly dismiss anything related.
Pass the SAVE ACT now, Congress!
Glib nonsense. The main reason people are registered incorrectly is they moved without canceling their earlier registration.
DeleteDestroy the Save Act now, before it destroys our voting rights.
DeleteAh, 10:01 . . . No conspiracy theories, please.
DeleteWhat a mess. Is it true the registrar was or is away at a conference? Did the county then quickly spend money to make up signs to state the meeting was canceled and then plaster them throughout the courthouse? I think those are both yes answers. Tara has absolutely no idea what she’s doing evidenced by this mess. Pop up voting! What would the founding fathers think? Good job, Mr. Flower in exposing this information.
ReplyDeleteNow that it’s been brought to everyone’s attention, when the next meeting is properly advertised and scheduled. The administration will have the opportunity to answer any questions and concerns. I’m sure they will get it right.
ReplyDeleteThere’s no room for error, especially with elections.
DeleteElections have never been perfect. They can be handled better but election technology today is better than ever.
DeleteI am not going to allow comments promoting conspiracy theories and other nonsense. Strick to what has been proven. It has been proven that pop-up elections result in very few votes. They have taken place at colleges, which means they will attract primarily only Democrats. As a Democrat, I must concede that is unfair. It is one thing to do this in a primary, but not in a general election. It is unfair on its face.
ReplyDeleteAs a Republican, I would support the pop-up elections at college campuses if we also allowed pop-up elections at places where people work.
DeleteAppreciate your honesty. This is all about getting the most dem votes out of the Colleges.
DeleteIt looks like it’s time for resignations. Amy resigned after the name flop fiasco and now we have incorrect files on the e-poll books resulting in almost 50% of Mail-in ballot recipients being eligible to vote in person, loading files on the e-poll books in the middle of an election, 4 different pop-up polling locations open for a total of 11 hours and taking in less than 60 votes, and now lack of posting an agenda.
ReplyDeleteBO assumes that those who repeatedly mismanage the process have any interest in improving it. Silly rabbit.
ReplyDeleteAll this hub bub over a clerical issue? Big deal. Reschedule it and advertise it. Ohhhhh the drama!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see which county commissioner is going to bring this idea forward. By the way, it's a terrible idea.
ReplyDeleteWhich idea and why terrible?
DeleteCommissioners in the Commissioner system are not part-time dabblers. It’s their full-time job.
DeleteOur current system has guaranteed political participation. What if there are no Republicans or Democrats on County Council ?
NORCO “Commissioners”/Council persons ARE part time.
Delete@1:47. Look your own shit up but I did it for you this time
DeleteIn Pennsylvania, traditional county commissioners in the standard three-member board system are legally classified and compensated as full-time elected officials/administrators, though the actual time spent can feel like a 24/7 job.Structure of the Commissioner SystemStatus: Legally considered full-time positions with set annual salaries (scaled by county class size).Composition: Boards consist of three members (two from the majority party, one from the minority).Roles: They act as the chief administrators, corporate managers, and policy makers for the county, sitting on the prison, election, and salary boards.
I see. Well, I hate to break this to you, but the current elections commissioners are unpaid, unelected and volunteers. Most of them have little or no understanding of county government and are there mainly to uphold the interests of their party. This led to problems a few years ago. Both the Home Rule Charter and the Elections Code specifically provide that it is the elections board, and NOT the county administration, that administers elections. In order to comply with the law, we need to amend the Home Rule Charter to make it closer to the exact language of the elections code, which provides as follows:
Delete" In each county of the Commonwealth, the county board of elections shall consist of the county commissioners of such county ex officio, or any officials or board who are performing or may perform the duties of the county commissioners, who shall serve without additional compensation as such. Except in counties of the first class, in counties which have adopted home rule charters or optional plans the board of elections shall consist of the members of the county body which performs legislative functions unless the county charter or optional plan provides for the appointment of the board of elections. In either case, there shall be minority representation on the board. The county body which performs legislative functions shall in the case where the board does not contain minority representation appoint such representation from a list submitted by the county chairman of the minority party."
"(c) Whenever a member of the board of county commissioners is a candidate for nomination or election to any public office, the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas shall appoint a judge or an elector of the county to serve in his stead. Whenever there appears on the ballot a question relating to the adoption of a Home Rule Charter for the county or amendments to an existing county Home Rule Charter, the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas shall appoint judges or electors of the county to serve in the stead of the county commissioners. Appointees who are not currently elected office holders shall receive compensation for such service as determined by the salary board plus mileage as specified by the county for expenses incurred when performing election board business. "
In order to more closely align with the law and make the elections commission effective, it should consist of the governing body AND the Exec. The Executive is a full-time employee and naturally should be more than capable of making appropriate suggestions, but the governing body are also county employees who are there to represent and be accountable to all the people, not just some political party. They should be involved.
If this is too much for you, resign and let someone who is actually willing to work run for the job.
It is time to amend the Charter so that the Elections Comm'n actually does the job it is required to do. Its members should consist of Council members who are not seeking election or re-election and the Executive, with one spot reserved for a member of the minority party. If it is an election year for the Exec, her spot should be replaced by a person appointed by the Courts or Council.
ReplyDeleteWhat a Stupid idea.
Why would anyone schedule an Elections Committee meeting while Commini was sunning himself on Lake Erie. How much is that trip costing the taxpayers. ?
ReplyDeleteHey Hey Hey, you know my motto Bernie. Vote early and vote often. wink wink...Seriously, these election blunders should not happen time after time. Someone should lose their job.
ReplyDeleteYes, put Elections in Nadeem’s hands. What a spectacularly brilliant idea.
ReplyDeleteNadeem's got the whole world, in his hands
DeleteHe's got the whole world in his hands
But his wife is, pulling his hands
His wife is pulling his hands.
Can’t we just put Andrew Tupone in charge of Elections ?
ReplyDeleteHow many costly mistakes does it take before a proper autopsy of the noted problems will occur?
ReplyDelete