Fayette election board certifies primary results in Republican commissioner race
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
The Fayette County election board certified the primary election results for the Republican commissioners’ race on Wednesday. Earlier this month, staffers conducted a hand recount of six county precincts to determine whether ink bleed through on ballots may have impacted the outcome of the race.
Fayette County Election Bureau
The results of the Republican race for Fayette County commissioner were certified on Wednesday, paving the way for the county to prepare ballots for the November election.
The county’s three-member election board unanimously voted to certify the results. The move comes after a hand recount of votes cast in six precincts was conducted earlier this month, and after Senior Judge John F. Wagner Jr. entered an order last week stating, “This court specifically finds that the ballot scanners operated correctly in reading the ballots and that the ink bleed through did not affect the computation of the votes cast.”
Wagner’s order also indicated he did not find any evidence to support allegations of error or fraud in the first and third precincts of Bullskin Township, the third district of Georges Township, or in Connellsville Township and the boroughs of South Connellsville and Dunbar.
“Essentially, with that, the court has cleared the way for us to certify the Fayette County commissioner race on the Republican side,” election board member Mark Rowan said prior to the vote.
The hand recount was spearheaded by county Recorder of Deeds Jon Marietta, who ran for commissioner on the Republican ticket in the primary. He placed third by 121 votes, finishing behind incumbent Republican Commissioners Dave Lohr and Scott Dunn. The top two vote getters from both the Democratic and Republican parties appear on the November ballot.
Election Bureau Director Marybeth Kuznik said the recount showed only one discrepancy, in Bullskin’s first precinct, which benefitted Lohr. However, Kuznik advocated that the election board certify the original numbers because she believed the discrepancy was likely due to human error during the hand recount.
“It won’t in any way change the outcome of the election,” Rowan said. “I don’t see any need to change the reporting of the official results based on that.”
Nobody from the public attended board’s meeting to either support or object to the certification of election results.
Also during the meeting, Kuznik asked the board to adopt a set of rules related to the inspection of election records that are available to the public. She presented the board with guidelines from other counties, which bureau staff already follows, but noted no guidelines have ever been officially set by the election board. The rules include having only one person at a time inspect public records, implementing the use of a sign-in sheet, and not allowing anyone to take photographs or videos of the records.
Kuznik said they’ve had groups make requests to examine multiple bins of public records. That can be time consuming, she said, noting that the law requires a bureau staff member to be present while records are inspected.
“We’re willing to work with the public, but it has to be in time frames that we can accommodate them,” Kuznik said.
Rowan suggested posting the proposed guidelines on the bureau’s website so that the public has a chance to view and comment on them before the board votes on their adoption at a later meeting.
In other business, Kuznik said she received a request from a judge of elections in Henry Clay Township to move township’s polling place. Voters there typically cast ballots at Mountain Fellowship Center, which recently installed a new indoor basketball court. Those walking on the court must wear specific athletic-style shoes.
Kuznik suggested nearby Marclay Elementary School as the new polling place based on a recommendation from the Uniontown Area School District.
“They suggested it because it has one level and (is) a little easier for voters to go in and out,” she said, adding that the school also has a big parking area.
Kuznik said she would have to conduct a required Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) survey, but because it’s a public school, she expects the building to be compliant.
The board unanimously passed the motion pending the results of her survey. Both Kuznik and Fayette County Solicitor Jack Purcell thanked the school district for their help in the matter, and for offering the school.