After 36 Speakers, NorCo Elections Comm'n Plans Up to Six Pop-Up Elections and Will Try Adding 2-3 More Drop Boxes

At yesterday's meeting of the Northampton County Elections Commission, conducted in County Council Chambers (and available on YouTube), the Board heard from 36 people. These included Democrats, Republicans, elections workers and the current as well as the former Chair of the county Democratic party. That alone took about 90 minutes. After the public was heard, the Board voted along party lines (Democrats yes, Republicans, no) to explore and implement the addition of up to 3 drop boxes in addition to 7 existing drop boxes. They also plan to continue up to 6 "pop-up" elections at various locations throughout the count. Their next meeting is scheduled for October 20 at 5 pm. 

The Elections Commission is a five-member body established under the Home Rule Charter. It consists of no more than three members of the political party that received the most votes in the most recent general election, with the remaining two seats for the political party that received the second largest number of votes. It ostensibly exists to administer elections, but since it has no power over the purse and no separate budget, it has basically been little more than a whipping boy for voters with grievances. 

The current members consist of Democrats Sharon Gavin-Levy, Becky Bartlett and Richard Groff as well as Republicans Scott Hough (who participated by phone yesterday) and Shawn Welch. They heard a lot of complaints as well as a number of requests. 

Complaints came mostly from Republicans and are best summed up by remarks made by Jay Martin. He noted that there have been numerous election mishaps extending back several years. He argued that before expanding pop-up elections or adding drop boxes, the elections office needs to "get the basics right. You do not fix repeated errors by adding complexity. Stop expanding. Stop experimenting."

Realtor Robert Dandi called drop boxes "glorified garbage cans." He complained that the county elections process fits the definition of insanity because officials keep doing the same thing, expecting different results.

One voter who works for the RNC complained that "if they find out you are a Republican, they won't listen to you." She called for the removal of the entire elections office.

On the other side of the ideological spectrum, former Elections Comm'r Margie DeRenzis responded to some among the 36 speakers who contend they are ignored. She said that during her five years as an elections commissioner, each and every complaint was taken seriously and addressed by the Registrar. "But as we all know, where there are humans, there will be human error. I don't know any way of fixing that in any field of life, not just our elections."

DeRenzis was among a cascade of voters who are seeking additional drop boxes, primarily in the Saucon Valley area. The main reason why Saucon Valley voters would like more drop boxes is because two voting precincts have been closed, and the closest replacement that elections official could find was at the Stabler arena, which actually is located in Bethlehem. 

They also expressed concerns over President Donald Trump's Executive Order and subsequent guidelines by the USPS that could interfere with Mail-in Voting. DeRenzis noted that Trump's threat to send ICE officers to polling places would have a chilling effect on legitimate Hispanic voters. Mail-in voting would alleviate that concern. 

After listening to the public, Comm'rs heard from Solicitor Michael Vargo. He said ballots will be printed once the courts rule on whether Andrew Tupone stays or must be removed from the ballot.

Voting Registrar Chris Commini apologized to the Board and the public for a meeting that had to be canceled because he failed to post the agenda, and said that miscue was entirely his own fault.

He then addressed some of the concerns raised by the public.

He noted that, except for a Deputy Registrar, his office is fully staffed. 

As far as drop boxes are concerned, he told everyone that drop boxes must be under video surveillance, indoors, chained and ADA complaint. 

He asked for help finding polling places, saying he would appreciate public input.

He explained the purging process, something he and his predecessors have done several times. A person basically has to stop voting for five years before becoming inactive.

He addressed the complaint of dead people on the polling books. He said his office looks at obituaries, receives reports from family members and gets periodic reports from the state Department of Health as well as the Coroner's office. 

He agreed to look into making the elections webpage more user friendly and to look for larger signs to direct voters to polling places. 

The four pop-up sites being considered for the general election are Upper Mount Bethel Tp Municipal Bldg (10/6), Pen Argyl (10/14), Lower Saucon, and Lafayette College (10/15).

My personal opinion is that while Lafayette College is fine in a primary, it is a bad choice for a general election because it will unfairly tilt the vote towards a heavily Democratic college crowd, just as a pop-up election at some field and game club would tilt Republican.  I think it probably violates the Pa Constitution's requirement of a "free and equal" election. 

I also agree that there have been too many errors in recent years to throw in pop-up elections. 

One of the 36 people who spoke last night was a gentleman named Phillip Godbane (sp?). He said his wish this election cycle is that NorCo stays out of the national news spotlight.