‘The first step’: Chester County commissioners present poll book investigation to voters
After an error that left thousands of unaffiliated and third-party voters off the poll books in November, Chester County publicly presented the findings of an investigation.
Chester County residents called for accountability after a poll book error led to thousands of voters being left off the rolls in November’s election, and said the recent investigation solicited by the county fell short of addressing problems they fear could happen again.
Tuesday’s public meeting was the first time community members — and the county commissioners themselves — were able to respond to an independent firm’s investigation and report, which found that insufficient training, poor oversight, and staffing challenges in the county’s elections office forced more than 12,000 voters to cast provisional ballots in the general election. The poll book error occurred as the 25-person department has faced unusually high turnover in recent years, and as the director faces allegations of fostering a toxic workplace.
“This is the first step, this is not the last step … to rebuilding trust with the public and improving elections in a way that ensures this never happens again,” Josh Maxwell, chairman of the county commissioners, told the attendees.
The 24-page report, prepared by West Chester law firm Fleck, Eckert, Klein & McGarry LLC and published last month, found that two employees mistakenly included only registered Democrats and Republicans when using the statewide voter roll to create the poll book, omitting more than 75,000 registered independent and unaffiliated voters from the rolls.
The employees, inexperienced and never formally trained, lacked direct supervision, the report said. No one in the county’s department checked the books until a poll worker noticed the omissions before polls opened on Election Day.
There was no evidence of malfeasance, the report said. County officials said previously that everyone who wanted to vote could cast a ballot, despite the issue.
Still, the error rocked Election Day in the county, with officials scrambling to print supplemental poll books and poll workers staying late to address the challenges. Republican Commissioner Eric Roe broke with his Democratic peers by voting against the certification of the election results in December, saying his conscience would not allow it.
Community members said Tuesday the error further eroded trust in voting security.
“How many voters were disenfranchised and did not vote?” resident John Luther asked the commissioners. “That is the most important thing. You guys can fix all the rest, but you can’t fix what you messed up in the front.”
Kadida Kenner — who leads the New Pennsylvania Project, an organization dedicated to voter registration — said she rushed on Election Day to West Chester University, where the organization had helped students register to vote, to make sure they were not disenfranchised.
“I see the impact of this mistake, this opportunity for change and growth,” she said. “The events of Election Day really did not help our efforts to be able to overcome feelings of individuals, as it relates to the electoral process, here in the commonwealth and across the country.”
The report recommended more than a dozen changes for the county to prevent future errors, including improved training, reviewing processes and policies, and evaluating staff levels and pay. The county rolled out a plan to address the recommendations and intends to make monthly reports on its progress, saying some recommendations would be in place ahead of May’s primary.
“Everyone in this room knows that a grievous error was made, and everyone is upset about it,” resident Marian Schneider said. “We can stop the browbeating and focus on the path forward.”
The report stopped short of recommending personnel changes. Maxwell said the commissioners would not discuss personnel actions.
“Bottom line, this appears to be a human error — clicking the wrong box,” said Sigmund Fleck, one of the attorneys who oversaw the report.
Residents worried that those errors were symptoms of a deeper problem, and that the report’s scope did not fully address issues within voter services.
“Yes, human error is a factor here,” Elizabeth Sieb told the commissioners. “This goes far beyond that. Mistakes of this magnitude require consequences.”
Fleck pointed to larger issues with the state’s election system that culminated in the error, such as tight turnaround times for publishing the poll books, lack of statewide training, and a fairly old-school online voting roll system.
But other counties deal with those same complications, some community members argued. November’s error came after the county omitted the office of the prothonotary on the ballot in May’s primary. The report found that error was due to the county solicitor’s office misinterpreting state law.
“Sixty-seven counties face the same exact issues, except for one: management,” said Nathan Prospero Fox, a former voter services employee.
Roe acknowledged the anger directed at county staff, but said: “The truth is, the buck doesn’t stop with staff. It stops with us.”
“I am so sorry,” he continued. “This is not the end; there’s still time for accountability and improvement.”
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.