Democratic campaign manager charged in Chester County for allegedly filing fake signatures in 2024 primary race

A Democratic campaign manager was charged Monday in Chester County for allegedly filing fraudulent nomination petitions in the 2024 primary for auditor general, including the forged signature of a Chester County judge.

Mariel Kornblith-Martin, 40, of Philadelphia, was charged for allegedly filing false nomination petitions and other offenses when serving as campaign manager for Mark Pinsley, the Lehigh County controller, as he sought to secure a place on the competitive Democratic primary ballot.

Petitions for Pinsley’s campaign included names from various people who said they had not signed them, including Chester County Judge Alita Rovito, Coatesville City Council members Carmen Green and Khadija Al-Amin, and West Goshen Township Supervisor Nate Wolman, The Inquirer reported.

Rovito reported the forgery to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office at the time, noting that the signature was not hers and she did not sign nominating petitions for any candidate “as to do so would be a violation of judicial ethics,” according to charging documents.

Rovito, a Democrat, told The Inquirer at the time that “the use of my name and signature is concerning to me due [to] the potential implications on my role as a member of the independent judiciary.”

In the criminal complaint filed against Kornblith-Martin, the Chester County DA’s office alleges that she gave three college students “stacks of pages containing signatures of supporters” and asked them to sign the required sworn declaration at the bottom of each page. Among Kornblith-Martin’s charges was solicitation to false swearing.

She paid the students, who are not named in the charging documents, $50 on at least three occasions to sign the petitions.

“That’s disgraceful,” former U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the chair of the Philadelphia Democratic Party, said of the charges against Kormblith-Martin. “She’s not one of our favorites.”

The three college students were all working part-time on several campaigns run by Kornblith-Martin, according to the complaint. State Sen. Nikil Saval’s 2024 campaign complained about signatures on then-candidate Allen King’s petitions, which included two of the same student circulators.

The students were previously identified by The Inquirer as paid volunteers attending Temple University.

Kornblith-Martin described herself to investigators as a “political operative” in Philadelphia with 13 years of experience who worked on 16 campaigns, according to the criminal complaint. She previously served in Philadelphia’s 39th Democratic Ward, but resigned last year, according to its ward leader Traffic Court Judge Michael Sullivan.

Kornblith-Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.

She turned herself in on Wednesday and has been released on bail, which was set to $50,000.

Kornblith-Martin said in 2024 that the campaign was conducting an “internal investigation” when asked about the alleged fraudulent signatures.

Pinsley told The Inquirer on Wednesday evening his campaign “reviewed what was brought to our attention but did not have enough verified information to reach independent conclusions” when concerns were raised.

“Petition drives can involve invalid or questionable signatures for many reasons, and we were not in a position to determine intent,” he added in a text message. “I was not personally involved in the signature collection, and I believe the legal process is the appropriate place for the facts to be established. If anyone knowingly falsified signatures, that would be wrong and should carry consequences.”

Pinsley also said he has “not been involved” with Kornblith-Martin since his auditor general campaign and does “not know the facts of this situation.” Pinsley is now running in the crowded Democratic primary to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the Lehigh Valley.

The February 2024 revelation that Pinsley’s campaign submitted fraudulent petitions introduced shook up the race for what is usually a little-known office responsible for conducting audits to ensure all state money is spent properly.

Pinsley failed to secure the Democratic nomination over State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta for the nod. Kenyatta ultimately lost to incumbent Auditor General Tim DeFoor, a Republican, as the GOP swept the state’s row offices.

Kenyatta at the time did not formally challenge Pinsley’s nominating petitions to remove him from the ballot. Reached Wednesday, Kenyatta said in a statement: “Fraud occurring within any stage of our electoral process is a direct assault on our democracy.”

“The charges brought today are a first step in the legal process but accountability must not end here: the buck always stops with the candidate,” added Kenyatta, the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Investigators found at least nine pages of alleged forgeries of Chester County voters, according to the complaint.

To get on the ballot in Pennsylvania for a statewide row office like auditor general, a candidate must submit 1,000 signatures, including at least 100 from at least five counties.