On the elections director

To the editor: The new Director of Elections has asked for the benefit of the doubt as to her commitment to fairness. If she wants that consideration, she would do well not to be photographed in places like Republican Greg Chelak’s campaign kickoff dinner, or socializing in public with Republican candidates, as she and her husband did on Saturday at the Shohola Thaw. Unfortunately for her, this is part of the price of accepting a non-partisan election position in an election year. The perception it gives is that her “past political affiliation” is not truly “past”, and that cronyism is alive and well and thriving in Pike County. Still, her announcement of an upcoming “press conference” to explain her activities and that of the Board of Elections (BOE) appears to be a welcome change to the shroud of secrecy that normally veils information requested from the County Administration Building. Assuming that she is as good as her word, I would like to suggest some questions or subjects that the press might offer in the spirit of enlightening Pike County voters. 1. “Removal of Electors”. The Director says this activity is taking place daily, but can she tell us if the BOE is in complete compliance with Pennsylvania election law. Act 3 of 2002, Chapter 19, provides methods for a mandatory annual culling of voters who have not voted in five years. The effort must be completed ninety days prior to each municipal or general election. The provision has been declared to be in harmony with Federal law. And yet, the rolls are still full of people who are no longer residents, deceased, or otherwise missing in action. It is not just the integrity of elections at stake. When the rolls show more “active” voters than there really are, voting districts may be forced to split when there is no necessity for it. Besides creating voter chaos the first time around, splitting a district requires additional expense for more voting equipment and staff. 2. Can the Director explain the reason she was asked to shed her political party offices while her bosses, Commissioners Forbes and Caridi, retain their positions in the county Republican Party? After all, they are members of the BOE by virtue of being county commissioners. Certainly they should be held to the same standard of non-partisanship as the director whom they appoint. How can they perform their BOE duties when their party offices all but require them to choose sides? Commissioner Wagner is not an elected member of the county Democratic committee. 3. When Commissioners Forbes and Caridi publicly “endorse” candidates for political office (as occurred during the municipal elections in 2005, including Caridi’s endorsement of the Director’s own husband ), or when they actually manage or actively assist their campaigns in Pike County (as occurred in the Republican primary and general elections in 2006), do they disqualify themselves from performing duties on the BOE due to conflict of interest? If not, why not? Candidates as well as voters must be able to trust the process. How can they do that when members of the Board of Elections are allowed to tell voters how they should vote? 4. Will the Director finally begin to enforce the law regarding provisional ballots to the letter? Will the Director promise to see that all ballots will be counted on election night, including absentee and write-in ballots, which have sometimes not been counted until several days later? We hope that the Director of Elections will make good on her offer to hold a press conference in the near future. Being able to provide satisfactory answers to these and many other questions would do much to alleviate the concerns surrounding her appointment. We look forward to the announcement of a date. Elizabeth Forrest Dingmans Ferry