According to emergency petition filed in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas, Washington State Election Judge Vincent Manetta announced his intention to remove ballots from the secure mailbox and conduct an unauthorized manual audit of votes cast for presidential candidates.
Even after being informed by county Elections Director Marybeth Kuznik that a manual recount would violate state election statutes, the petition indicated that Manetta still intended to conduct a manual recount. The petition was submitted by Kuznik.
This evening, Judge Linda Cordaro of the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas ruled that Manetta cannot conduct manual inspection of ballots and that if he refuses to comply with the ruling, a Fayette County Sheriff’s Office officer will escort an election worker, ballots and other election materials to the Fayette County Elections Office after the polls close.
Manetta could not be reached at a telephone number associated with his name obtained through a public records search. It is unclear why he intended to hand-count the ballots. It’s also unclear how many ballots will be affected.
Having an election judge count hands at a polling place would violate the chain of custody of ballots set forth in Pennsylvania’s election code. It would also likely result in a “many-hour delay” in county election results, according to the petition.
In response to additional questions, Kuźnik referred to the court’s application and decision.
George Rattay, chairman of the Fayette County Democratic Party, said he didn’t know the details of the situation, but “I predicted it.” If something was going to happen, it was going to happen in Washington Township,” likely due to lack of confidence in the election results.
Michelle Mowry, chairwoman of the Fayette County Republican Party, declined to comment.
Every vote in Pennsylvania is cast on a paper ballot. Voting machines that are not connected to the Internet essentially serve as scanners.
“Counting or tabulating votes on ballots is not the responsibility of precinct election staff,” Marian Schneider, senior council for voting rights policy at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. “The voting system serves this function, and it is the county’s job to calculate, collect and certify the returns.”
Pennsylvania’s election code states that after the polls close, ballots and electronic data collected by the machines must be sealed and delivered to the county elections office.
“There are very specific procedures for how and when a recount occurs,” said Frederick Thieman, a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania and a member of Keep Our Republic, an election integrity and education nonprofit.
“The entire purpose of the statute is to ensure a uniform vote count, in an open and transparent manner, with a paper backstop for verification,” Thieman added. “If individuals start moving ballots on their own, the entire chain of control will break.”
This is a developing story.
