Governor Ordered Signatures Covered On Ballot Envelopes? — The counting of ballot envelopes by Republican candidates along with citizen activists was postponed after Delaware County officials ordered envelope signatures to be covered with tape before they were counted.
The counting was scheduled to take place, yesterday morning, June 2 at the county’s Wharf election facility.
The covering was allegedly ordered by the Pennsylvania Secretary of State. There is suspicion that it was done at the behest of Gov. Josh Shapiro.
This is getting curiouser and curiouser. Seriously, what is the fuss? The envelopes are public record by law and the signatures are part of that record. There is no expectation of privacy. One can’t tell one’s vote from the envelope and that is by design. And that one has voted or is registered to vote is obviously public record. How do you think you get those mailings every October?
And, of course, seeing a legitimate signature — much less any signature — is the only way to determine that an envelope carried a legitimate vote.
Don’t blame the rampant skepticism about the integrity of our elections on Donald Trump or internet conspiracy theories. Blame it entirely on our election officials, especially those in Pennsylvania.
Ready to count envelopes at Delaware County’s Wharf, June 2, are clockwise from left Greg Stenstrom, Erik Kocher, Scott Thomas, Joy Schwartz and Maria Fine. Joy is a Republican candidate for County Council
Governor Ordered Signatures Covered On Ballot Envelopes?
Mancini Wants Summary Judgement In Delco Election Right To Know Case –Robert Mancini of Media has requested a summary judgement regarding a right-to-know case heard May 24 before Delaware County (Pa) Common Pleas Court Judge Spiros Angelos.
Mancini wants a written admission from the county that the “trusted build validation records” for the county’s Hart Intercivic used in the November 2022 election do not exist. He also wants attorneys’ fees, a civil penalty and other sanctions as assessed by the court.
The hearing was held to determine whether Delco has to give certain elections records sought by Mancini as per right-to-know requests filed last year.
The county initially refused.
So, Mancini appealed to Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records which ruled in his favor.
While the county reluctantly conceded four cases after arbitration, they appealed four others to Common Pleas Court.
Delco just does not want to give the public a numerical list of voters in a Marple precinct; records associated with election machines; a list of applications for mail-in ballots; and other ballot records such as what was discussed with Fort Orange Press of Albany, N.Y., which prints the county’s election ballots.
Why are Delco’s ballots being printed in New York, anyway?
But leave that aside.
The May 24 hearing was to consolidate the cases.
A dispute arose in which Mancini said the County never created the records that he was seeking.
So County Director of Elections Jim Allen took the stand.
Mancini says the county never verified the “trusted build” of the software which is something is required by the state when software is installed or upgraded on voting machines.
Allen said it was something not required for the November 2022 election.
Mancini citing the Elections Assistance Commission says it was.
And that’s where we leave it.
I actually feel a little sympathy for Allen.
Like myself, he’s not a tech guy and our voting system has become pointlessly complicated.
I saw this as a “machine operator” for my precinct during the May 16 Primary.
My precinct didn’t have any serious issues — albeit there was a power outage –and I’m confident the votes were tallied accurately. I don’t trust those machines, however. Not because I thought they were rigged but rather rickety and overly complex. During set up and take down, I saw way too many possibilities for things causing major delays.
The ones assigned to us even had parts missing. Obviously nothing too serious but the lifespan on these expensive devices cannot be long. What if they fail in the middle of the day? It would likely be an hour delay. Yes, voters would be disenfranchised.
With the analog lever machines used two decades ago, winners were almost always quickly determined, and while that was the case in this low-turnout race, the last few cycles saw the norm as otherwise.
We hear Delco Council is going to vote June 7 to replace the tested and highly efficient ink and paper voter lists with electronic pads.
Why? Because they are neat and new? I suspect it’s because we have highly miseducated and rather stupid people running things.
Sorry to be mean but if humanity hopes to survive it better begin considering digital ancillary to analog. This ZeroHedge story foretells our future if we continue to let those like our present leaders stay in office.
And whenever I want to give Allen et al the benefit of the doubt regarding election integrity, they pull a mind-numbed stunt that quashes whatever benefit I was prepared to give.
Hey Jim, why not just give Mancini what he wants? Your argument is that he has to use a process under the Election Code rather than the Right to Know Law. Why not put the principle of public transparency over kommissar-functionarism?
You have any idea how many people in this county think we no longer live in a democracy?
Transparency is the only answer.
Which gets us to yesterday’s story. Delco’s functionaries fought, in violation of state law, to keep candidates and other citizens from seeing mail-in ballot envelopes.
Why? Because our wee wee is bigger? That actually would be the innocent explanation.
So after threats and a Commonwealth Court filing, Delco, again grudgingly, agreed to let The People see the envelopes but with a lot of pointless rules like no photographing.
The People said no, and Delco conceded allowing the photographing.
Then we learn that the county is taping over signatures, which very well may be spoliation of evidence.
“A public record, is a public record, including the electors signature, which is clearly the intent of Act 77, Section 1309, for the public to examine,” said Greg Stenstrom of Glen Mills, who is one of those seeking access. “It is not up to you, or the Delaware County Solicitors, or even Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth to bureaucratically decide what part of the public record you will allow us to see.”
Stenstrom noted that there are multiple ways to redact signatures from photographic images if that should become a requirement.
It’s disconcerting, though, that Delco election officials really don’t want anyone to see if the envelopes are signed.
And on an unrelated matter, we’d like to congratulate Robert Mancini’s daughter El, a student at La Salle, who finished first in the women’ts 10K at the NCAA East Preliminaries. She will advance to the nationals in Texas. Her time was 33:13.35.
Mancini Wants Summary Judgement In Delco Election Right To Know Case
United4Delco Has Inaugural Meeting — Kudos to Joe Dychala and Wendy Willhauer for organizing the inaugural meeting of United4Delco held tonight, June 1, at warm and friendly Gatsby’s Bar & Grill, 4936 Pennell Road, Aston, Pa. 19014.
About 40 filled the banquet hall. Joe described his write-in campaign in the May 16 GOP primary for Aston 7th Ward Commissioner in which he got nearly a third of the vote against 16-year incumbent Mike Higgins.
The main speakers were election integrity activists Leah Hoopes and Greg Stenstrom, authors of The Parallel Election. While much of what they said would be familiar to readers of this site, Greg and Leah each described the very real personal costs they endured during their campaign.
The County can go a long way in easing legitimate suspicions regarding how it runs elections simply by not fighting right to know requests especially when arbiters rule against them, and by not ignoring requests for documents in bald rejection of the law.
How can one not be suspicious?
Oh, an update on this morning’s story: We have been told that Delaware County Director of Elections Jim Allen has contacted Greg along with GOP County Council candidate Joy Schwartz and agreed to allow them to count — and photograph — the ballot envelopes. That wasn’t so hard, now, was it?
Delco Refuses Count Of Mail-In Envelopes — Delaware County Pa. is refusing to let Republicans count mail-in ballot envelopes from the May 16 primary election spawning a request for intervention in Commonwealth Court; demands from John McBlain, who is the minority member of the Board of Elections; and a letter from Delco GOP Chairman Frank Agovino to County Election Director James Allen asking him what’s up.
“I cannot fathom why the county will not allow examination of the envelopes,” Agovino said. This is a pretty simple request. And, as (McBlain) has indicated repeatedly, this is in direct violation of state law. I cannot in good conscious abide by the county’s current position.”
Agovino told Allen to consider his letter a formal request to conduct a count on behalf of Katie Ford, the losing candidate in a special election to fill the 163rd District State House seat. A victory by her would have given Republicans control of the House.
The Commonwealth Court filing was made by County Council candidate Joy Schwartz of Drexel Hill along with poll watchers Greg Stenstrom of Glen Mills, Leah Hoopes of Chadds Ford and Paul Rumley of Springfield.
Delco Dems Harassing Restaurants — The Democrats that run Delaware County, Pa. have recruited an ill-trained host of code inspectors which they have sicced on the county’s mom and pop restaurants.
The Delaware County Daily Times, which is their mouthpiece, have been dutifully publicizing the claims — regardless of how minor — of these inspectors happily using the names of the establishments putting them in the worst possible light.
Joy Schwartz, who is running for Delaware County (Pa) Council, has been banned from commenting on these articles.
Joy, your comments are more than welcome here and we’ll start with this one:
I have apparently been prohibited from commenting on articles in the Delco Times. So, I will spread my “misinformation” here.
From a reliable source… The Delco Health Department sends aspiring “health inspectors” to a 5 week “health inspector training” to learn how to pick pepper from fly poop. These people have no idea how restaurants operate in real life, so when the soda hose leaks a drop of seltzer into the ice container, they clutch their pearls in horror.
The newly trained inspectors are then deployed to nitpick and harass small restaurants, subjecting them to insufferable and cost-prohibitive regulations, in the name of protecting the public, forcing some to close down.
Then the Daily Times reports on every peccadillo committed by mom and pop establishments as if they are the muckrakers of old.
It is shameful for the Delco Health Department to use these blatant intimidation tactics and for so-called journalists to enable them to kill small businesses!
This is the same health department that gives out free condoms in bulk on request, lies about how many vaccines they administered, and cannot find anything better to do with their time.
It is a wasteful government boondoggle that is being used by the Delco Council of clowns, to hide the fact that hospitals are closing on their watch, emergency services are failing, and their priorities are completely backassward.
Pennsylvania County Fights Open Records Decisions Regarding Elections; Why The Fear? — Robert Mancini of Media filed right-to-know requests last year for public records relating to elections in Delaware County, Pa., which the county rejected.
Mancini wanted to know who installed the software on the voting machines, the date it was it installed, and the hash code of the software installed. He also wanted to know who requested absentee ballots at the county level; email correspondence between the Fort Orange Press of Albany, N.Y., which prints the county’s election ballots, along with the names of those requesting the ballots. He also wanted the number voter lists, a list of those removed from voter list for reasons such as deaths and moving, and the 90-day report on how the money from the election integrity grant received from the county was spent.
Mancini appealed to Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records which overruled the county and said that Mancini had a right to the info.
After hemming and hawing, the Democrats who run Delco conceded these four and Mancini awaits the documents.
However, the county is appealing these four to Common Pleas Court.
Why the fight? The county’s actions make it impossible not to go “hmmm, what are they hiding?”
Tens of thousands of Delaware County residents believe the elections are rigged here. This is troubling and dangerous.
Yet, there is no innocent explanation for the county’s actions.
And why does the county have to go to New York to get a printer for Pennsylvania ballots?
A final question: Why isn’t the Delco GOP speaking out for Mancini? This isn’t about calling into question elections. This is about convincing the public that the elections are trustworthy.
This is about good governance and common sense.
Again, what the county is doing only raises suspicion.
Mancini cases upheld by the Office of Open Records that the county still wants hidden
Pennsylvania County Fights Open Records Decisions On Elections; Why The Fear?
Delco Dems Plan Precinct Power Grab — We have it on good authority that Democrats that control Delaware County, Pa. are planning a power grab designed to give them forever rule.
What is in the works — and is supposed to be in place by the November election — is the consolidation of precincts into massive voting districts.
Where this has happened namely in Oregon, Washington, Colorado and California, has been the disenfranchisement of voters unaligned with the ruling “credentialed” class.
The first target is reportedly Republican-leaning Aston.
For the record, the state Election Code limits precincts to 1,200 voters which is still too high. A good rule of thumb is that the election workers should be familiar with most of the voters.
Where is the outrage from the county Republicans?
Stick it to the man and fight the power, Delco. It’s your heritage
Councilwoman Implies Delco Didn’t Celebrate Transgenderism; Gets Called Out — Delaware County (Pa) Councilwoman Christine A. Reuther, implied a transgender celebration did not happen at the courthouse and got called out by the citizens.
Joann Stump of Newtown Square and Carris Kocher of Glen Mills both spoke out against the event at this evening’s, April 5, council meeting.
Mrs. Stump noted that on March 31 the county held a ceremony in which the courthouse was lit up in the colors of the transgender movement and transgender flags were displayed.
She, rightfully, pointed out that this movement is a hateful attack on children and that encouraging children not to talk to parents is a technique used by pedophiles.
Mrs. Kocher, who also noted that Delco’s council is the legislative body most opposed to transparency she has ever seen, said that what was once thought to be the most egregious crimes against children are now celebrated. She quoted Patrick Henry and said that a virtuous people will be blessed but a people that rejects virtue will be cursed.
In Council remarks, Ms. Reuther disingenuously claimed a transgender flag was never flown from a flag pole and said she doesn’t want the Bible dictating her health care.
Christine, if you ever want to become a man that is your business but this twisted concept should never be suggested to children. For what it’s worth, encouraging self-mutilation and self-hate for anyone is as bad as encouraging suicide.
Would you yell “jump” to someone standing on a ledge?
After the meeting, Mrs. Kocher confronted her and she confessed that Max Bennet’s story in the Media Patch was correct. The courthouse was lit in pink and blue, and small transgender flags were displayed.
Other Speakers
Also speaking were Scott Thomas of Broomall who thanked county Director of Elections Jim Allen for having a public hashtag testing event; and Elizabeth of Ridley who said the county’s Children and Youth Services is not providing adequate help for children and caregivers and is ignoring complaints, as does council.
Department Updates
In other matters County Controller Joanne Phillips updated Council about her department saying that the number of county employees have increased dramatically. She also said county audits are now available free online. Ms. Phillips also said the county now lists unclaimed property on its website before it is sent to the state the property may be claimed by filling this form. She said Delco has returned $46,618 so far.
Also speaking was Health Director Melissa Lyon, who noted her department had just celebrated its first birthday.
A presentation was made for National Library Week. All were encouraged to get library cards which could be either obtained from one’s local library or online.
Why Fight Open Records Appeal?
Solicitor William Martin said the county received more than 500 open record requests last year and requests this year are on about the same pace. He said the county has the right to refuse certain requests and the the one whose request is refused has the right to appeal. He says if the request is granted upon appeal, the “disappointed party” may appeal that to Common Pleas Court, which is what the county is doing to a request it denied but was granted upon appeal.
Another Death At Delco Prison — Broad + Liberty has revealed another death at Delaware County’s (Pa) George W. Hill prison.
It occurred Feb. 12 and the victim was a 25-year-0ld African American. The cause was complications from a gunshot that occurred before his incarceration.
The county would not respond to questions about the care he was receiving, or if he had been making any medical complaints.
This is the fourth death since the county took over day-to-day management of the facility in April. The prison had been privately run for three decades.
In June, two inmates died by suicide days apart. It was the first time the facility witnessed two suicides in the same year since 2015. The county has not released any information on those two deaths.
There was a non-fatal stabbing in January, albeit the victim required hospitalization.
The prison no longer disclosing its monthly staffing rates which had been routinely disclosed under private management.
The county also recently denied the release of the final report by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections from the scheduled inspection of the prison last fall, designed to make sure the facility is meeting minimum requirements of state law.
The prison budget has increased from just over $48 million in 2019 to $55.7 million in 2022 despite a lower incarceration rate.
CPA Says Biden Win Needs Auditing — Joseph Fried, an MBA and CPA, retired from the auditing firm he created so with time on his hands he investigated Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
His conclusion is that an audit is most certainly, definitely positively needed.
Front Page Magazine spells out many of his specifics from many places in many states.
Delaware County, Pa. is among them.
Fried cites the hidden-camera videos showing patently illegal conduct – including the destruction of election records – on the part of election workers.
One showed two Delaware County election workers discussing the need “to destroy and/or hide 2020 election information requested under Pennsylvania’s ‘Right to Know’ laws.”
Smile Jim.
The county District Attorney closed his “investigation” into these videos without taking action.
It was worse than that, actually. Jack Stollsteimer sent a letter to County Council, which it read into the record, that only three videos were presented as evidence, that they had been taken from the internet and that they had been doctored.
The truth is that 37 videos were submitted as evidence, they came directly from the person who made them, and they had not been edited.
Delaware County was the last in Pennsylvania to report its vote totals – and before that report came in, Trump was winning the state.
Fried also includes the claim by Steven Miller, a professor of mathematics at Williams College, that around 90,000 of the absentee ballots purportedly requested by Republican voters had either been requested by persons other than those GOP voters or had been completed and sent in by those voters but never counted.
Miller was criticized for his data-set by other academics who, however, conceded that his math was correct.
Miller’s response was that did not claim his statement to be conclusive but rather potentially indicative.
“I am a strong believer that sunlight is the best disinfectant, that the best solution is to put things out there in the public,” he said.
Which gets us to why so many are certain Biden is not the legitimate president. Cover-ups and bald dismissals occur instead of taking the allegations seriously and investigating.
Miller is competent and highly respected. His data-set raises suspicions? Fine, develop one without the perceived flaws. Don’t attack him for telling you what you don’t want to hear.
Fried isn’t perfect. He says that more ballots were cast in Pennsylvania than registered voters. This stems from erroneous early reporting by the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors that conflicted with what the Department of State was releasing. When everything was settled, ballots had been cast by only about 74 percent of registered voters, still a very high turnout.
And this is how you ease suspicions. You understand what the source of the suspicion is and address it with solid evidence in a transparent way.
We have not seen this done with Miller’s claims and it most certainly was not done by Stollsteimer.
It was most certainly not done in Fulton County, Pa. where the state actually crushed an attempt by the county to audit its Dominion voting machines.
Fried’s bookDebunked: A Professional Auditor Reviews the 2020 Election came out four months ago.
