Pennsylvania clerical error on poll books in Chester County delays voting
Chester County Democratic Committee Chair Charlotte Valyo theorized the issue stemmed from the use of poll books allotted for the primaries, which only includes Democratic and Republican polls, as opposed to the ones needed for Election Day. (Elliott Stallion/Unsplash)
Third-party and independent voters were left off poll books in voter services error.
Article by Abigail Gambla, Assistant Chief White House Producer
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Chester County, Pennsylvania on Election Day experienced ballot issues where third-party voters were mistakenly absent on the poll books. Third-party voters account for nearly 75,000 of the 386,000 registered voters in the county, and include independents, libertarians and those with “No Affiliation" or are “Non-Parisian.”
While most poll stations in Pennsylvania were open from 7am through 8pm, a judge motioned to extend voting until 10pm in Chester County to make up for the earlier mistake. As the correct poll books were distributed across 230 precincts, independent and third-party voters could cast provisional ballots.
Some voters praised the county’s ability to regroup and allow people to vote, while others expressed discontentment.
“By the time I was finishing, there were eight people voting provisionally. The process was very disorganized,” Chester county voter Jeff Wagenman told CBS Philadelphia. While staff were trying to quickly facilitate the process, some voters experienced delays in filling out the form.
"Two of the people that were in the line behind turned around and walked out," Chester County voter Robert Healey said to CBS Philadelphia. "They didn't have the time.” He expressed concern that others may not be able to return to vote before the error was remedied.
Chester County Democratic Committee Chair Charlotte Valyo theorized the issue stemmed from the use of poll books allotted for the primaries, which only includes Democratic and Republican polls, as opposed to the ones needed for Election Day.
However, Chester County CEO David Byerman hesitated to verify the claim to 6abc Philadelphia. “It’s certainly a reasonable theory. We have not started our investigation as to why this happened yet. That’s a question for tomorrow. The question for today is how do we fix this problem.”
Some expressed frustration and concern regarding whether their votes would still matter.
“It just puts doubt into- will my vote be counted? I was given a number and I will check," Schuylkill Township voter Rolph Gerstenberger said to 6abc Philadelphia.
Byerman assured voters that despite the error, their votes will still be counted.
"Whether a vote is counted in the traditional process or through the provisional process, those votes count equally,” Byerman said.
As required by the state, the county is required to count provisional ballots within seven days of an election. Voters could verify their vote on the county website to ensure it was counted. The CEO believed it to be a mistake, but assured there would be a complete investigation into the issue to determine whether it was state or county-wide.
“I'm sure whoever made this mistake, it was an honest mistake, and we're going to, you know, fix the problem and learn from those mistakes and move on to the next election," said Byerman.
Chester County Voting Services released a statement to the public on the error. “Chester county voter services will conduct a formal review to determine how third-partyregistered voters were omitted from the poll books and will take action to ensure this error doesnot occur again.”