At their meeting last Thursday, Northampton County Council voted to re-appoint Scott Hough to the Elections Comm'n. Julie Geissinger, wife of GOP Chair Glenn Geissinger, was also appointed. These are the Republican designees to the five-member Elections Commission, and are the persons recommended by Geissinger.
Under the Home Rule Charter, the party chairs are required to submit the names of five individuals who are willing to serve. The Executive nominates from that list, with the majority party getting three members and the minority party getting two. County Council must confirm the nominations by majority vote.
In order to ensure that his two picks received the Executive's nomination, Geissinger only provided two names. They were his wife and Scott Hough, an elections commissioner who refused to certify the 2023 results.
The elections commission appointments were included in a slate of appointments to various boards and agencies.
County Council member Kelly Keegan asked to have the vote for the elections commission conducted separately, but her motion failed. Keegan was joined by Council members Ken Kraft and Jeff Warren in seeking a separate vote.
Though there was no discussion, Hough refused to certify the elections results despite being advised by the attorney representing the elections commission that the vote to certify was mandatory and not discretionary.
A vote to certify the elections results simply means that those are the figures computed, niot that they are accurate. It is what starts the clock ticking for legal challenges that could make that determination.
All Republicans were joined by Democrats Ron Heckman and Lori Vargo-Heffner in voting No to a separate vote.
Having failed to separate the vote on the elections commission from other agencies and boards, Council voted 7-1 to confirm all appointments, with Ken Kraft being the sole No vote.
Council's action reappoints an elections commissioner who violated the law by refusing to certify the election results even though he is mandated to edo so under the Elections Code.
