Dec 10, 2022 4 min read

More than a dozen petitioners asked a judge Friday to order the hand recount of 13 precincts in Washington County following last month’s general election, while county officials pushed back on their arguments claiming there was fraud.

The challenges include general allegations of fraud at 18 precincts across the county during the Nov. 8 election, although an attorney representing people who submitted claims at five of them asked to withdraw their challenges before the hearing before Senior Judge Katherine Emery.

The petitioners made several claims during the nearly two-hour hearing, although Emery appeared skeptical as she listened to their arguments about why hand counts were needed for specific precincts in Buffalo, California, Canton, Donegal, Fallowfield, Monongahela, Morris, North Strabane, Peters and South Franklin.

But county solicitor Lauren Mathews argued there were numerous “fatal flaws” with the petitions and the unspecified examples “fraud or errors” did not fit the criteria for a hand recount of individual precincts. Instead, she said, the challenges fit under a provision of the election code in which a recount would be required for every precinct in the state since the petitioners were challenging the races for governor and U.S. Senate.

“It’s not ambiguous. It says every district,” Mathews said. “This has statewide ramifications because of statewide races for governor and senator.”

Emery still agreed to hear from each petitioner, although several people did not attend the hearing because the scheduling summons was delivered to them Thursday. Those who did attend alleged a variety of problems, although most appeared to be centered around the electronic voting machines or the state Department of State’s website that they claimed showed differing vote totals on election night.

Zonie Jackson said she and others had difficulty selecting their preferred candidates on the touch screen that appeared to switch choices, although a poll worker was eventually able to assist her. Emery said if there were “general allegations of error” she should speak with county elections officials directly about the problems.

John Hudock said he heard of problems at his Canton Township precinct, and he also found a video online showing how voting machines can be hacked, along with a Tweet that alleged fraud.

“You can’t bring that stuff up right now,” Emery said of Hudock’s “hearsay” claim.

While Mathews raised concerns about each petitioner’s argument, her hardest line of questioning was for Ashley Duff, who has regularly claimed that there was widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Mathews pointed out that Duff is a judge of elections at her Fallowfield Township precinct and that she signed documents after the polls closed that the results she was providing to the elections office were “true and accurate.” Mathews submitted Duff’s signatures on the documents as evidence that she could not argue there was fraud when she signed off on the results on election night.

Duff said the precinct’s digital check-in tabulator showed that one more person voted than the number of votes were recorded in the system, so she tried contacting the election office’s help line but apparently was told that nothing could be done about it. There was no explanation given for the discrepancy during Friday’s hearing.

Meanwhile, Duff’s precinct was one of five randomly districts selected for the mandated “2% statistical audit” that county officials asked to be performed with a hand recount last month. That recount, along with an additional “risk-limiting audit” also done by hand, showed no deviation from results tabulated by computers on election night.

“We did hand counts, according to election law,” county Elections Director Melanie Ostrander testified.

The hearing was nearly derailed when a man identified as Bruce Bandel could be seen using his cellphone to video record Ostrander while she testified. Two sheriff’s deputies entered the courtroom and brought Bandel before Emery, who ordered him to delete any videos of the hearing on his phone. It’s illegal in Pennsylvania to take photographs, videos or audio recordings inside a courtroom during a judicial proceeding, and those who do could face misdemeanor charges.

“It was never stated by anyone,” Bandel told Emery as he professed not to know about the law prohibiting it.

Emery said there are multiple signs posted around the courthouse notifying people that it’s illegal to take photographs or videos inside a courtroom.

“It’s not my rule,” Emery said. “It’s the rule of the state.”

Once the videos were deleted, Emery permitted Bendel to remain in the courtroom, and it appeared that no further actions would be taken against.

At the end of the nearly two-hour hearing, Emery said she would likely make her decision Monday on whether or not to order the hand recounts of the 13 precincts.