Public comments at the Wednesday morning Monroe County Board of Elections meeting suggested a rise in Voter Intimidation and also provided some insight into how various well-meaning but often uninformed election volunteers contribute to the circulation of election misinformation.
The first public comment came from a Realtor who alleged that several clients reached out to her concerning prior homeowners voting with addresses they no longer live at. She asked the Board of Elections how these individuals can be removed from the voter rolls, but when asked for additional details, she could not provide any. The speaker was then asked how her client learned a person voted using their address, which she also could not provide an answer for.
There is already a process and procedure in place for cleaning the voter rolls, and that guidance comes from the Department of State and is uniform across the Commonwealth. It is worth noting that Pennsylvania joined ERIC (Electronic Registration Information Center) in 2016, which is somewhat of a national voter database that serves as additional oversight for the elections. Ironically, Monroe County resident Theresa Pesce, who is usually concerned about election integrity, challenged Pennsylvania’s participation in ERIC at the Commissioners’ meeting earlier in the morning. Participation in ERIC is not determined by individual counties; it is determined by the state. ERIC allows Pennsylvania to share data with other participating states, which addresses many of the concerns Ms. Pesce regularly brings before the Commissioners and Board of Elections, including unsubstantiated claims of wide-spread non-citizen voting in Monroe County.
The most disturbing public comment of the morning came from the Judge of Elections for Polk Township, Joan McKinsey, whose main concern was not having a Constable for the upcoming General Election. Ms. McKinsey shared examples of prior incidents, showing that her concerns are not just hypothetical. Ms. McKinsey asked the Board of Elections how she is supposed to report these incidents without a Constable present. The Board of Elections responded that Ms. McKinsey should report any incidents to them, and reminded everyone that Police are not allowed at polling sites due to election laws. Voters in Barrett Township also experienced intimidation when an aggressive poll watcher filmed them and shouted at them as they entered the polling site last November, an issue that was discussed at the April meeting. The proper process, according to the Board of Elections, is to report the incident to the Constable, however, the Constable was asleep at the time and the incident was never investigated. It remains unclear how incidents like these should be reported and investigated, and even more concerning, how they will be prevented in the future.
Janet Dooner, a Polk Township resident and election worker, argued that Ms. McKinsey’s recollection was flawed, but Ms. McKinsey was quick to remind Ms. Dooner that she was not present to witness the event in question. In response, Ms. Dooner stated that “there have only been poll workers for the last, I think, 3 election cycles…I’m sorry, watchers…” Ms. Dooner’s comment demonstrates a disturbing pattern of misinformation being circulated by election workers and volunteers, who should, at the very least, demonstrate a basic understanding of the election process. Many in attendance were disturbed by her lack of basic knowledge about the election, which can be heard in the background of the meeting recording. Ms. McKinsey corrected the record when she stated there have always been poll watchers for our elections.
Matt Long, Republican candidate for State Representative (HD-115), also gave public comment claiming several people recently contacted him regarding State Representative Maureen Madden’s behavior during the 2022 General Election. More specifically, Mr. Long alleged that Rep. Madden bribed election workers with food, however, that incident was investigated and she was not found guilty of any wrongdoing. Mr. Long also argued that this particular poll, located inside The Mountain Center in Tobyhanna, should be relocated, as Rep. Madden’s office is located in the same building; he believes it is an election law violation. The County Solicitor clarified that it would only be a violation if Rep. Madden owned the building, which she does not. Additionally, her office is closed on Election Day.
Toward the end of the meeting, resident Janet Smith asked for an update on the Attorney General’s investigation of alleged voter fraud by a Monroe County Commissioner. Although Ms. Smith’s question would be more appropriately addressed by the Attorney General’s office, the Monroe County District Attorney was in attendance and shared that his office was recently informed that the investigation has concluded and no crime was found to have been committed.
Pete Begley, chair of the Monroe County Republican Committee, provided a final statement in which he reminded everyone of his disdain for ballot drop boxes. Mr. Begley requested, as he has in the past, that the drop boxes be removed, although he struggled to say precisely how many ballot boxes offended him. He also took a moment to complain about the cost of the new cameras for the ballot boxes, even though the cameras were a proposed solution to several unfounded claims of election fraud and ballot harvesting that he and others have brought before the Board.
The Monroe County Board of Elections will reconvene on October 2 at 10:30 AM.