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MIFFLINTOWN- A proposed state mandate requiring all counties to purchase new voting equipment that can leave a "paper trail" and reduce the risk of voter fraud has prompted a response from the Juniata County Voter Registrar/Direcor of Elections.
During Tuesday's weekly meeting of the Juniata County Commissioners, Voter Registrar Eva Weyrich read a statement addressing her concerns on the matter.
"In April of 2018," Weyrich said, "Governor Wolf issued a directive to all 67 Pennsylvania counties that all voting equipment currently in use by counties would be de-certified. New voting equipment with voter-verifiable paper records must be purchased and in place for use for the 2020 Primary Election. Although we do already utilize this type of voting system, they claim ours is outdated since it was purchased in 2006."
Weyrich said Juniata County has accepted $20,000 in federal monies allocated for the purchase of new voting systems. "That's barely enough to cover the cost of four voting machines," she pointed out. "Governor Wolf has included $15 million in the budget per year for the next five years to help defray the cost of new voting machines, but that budget has yet to be approved.
"In November 2018 in the Stein vs. Cortes case, to avoid further litigation, the Department of State entered into a private settlement agreement, where it agreed to continue the path already started to replace all voting systems with new systems with voter-verifiable paper records in all 67 counties by the 2020 Primary Election.
"Although the Board of Elections and myself are very satisfied with the current voting system in place in Juniata County, our hands are unfortunately tied and we will once again be forced to purchase new voting equipment. It is not by our choice to purchase new voting systems but mandated by Governor Wolf. It is my intention to recommend a voting system very similar to that already in place in Juniata County and to maintain the integrity of every election to the best of my ability."
During the meeting, the
commissioners agreed with what Weyrich had to say. Commissioner Mark Partner said counties are putting pressure on their state legislators to at least push for exemptions for counties that already have a system that provides the necessary "paper trail."
"The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania is also lobbying hard for this," Partner commented.
In other business Tuesday, Commissioner Alice Gray announced that once again, the county is preparing a list of those residents who are behind on paying their taxes and will publish those names again this year.
"We don't do this to be mean," she stressed. "It's just a reminder that it's time to visit the tax claims office to make arrangements for some kind of tax payment."
No publication date for the list was provided on Tuesday.
In other action, the commissioners:
¯ Ratified the following CDBG-IDIS checks as submitted by the Juniata County Planning and Community Development Department: $68,171.22 to Instuform Technologies for project costs; and $6,176 to Rue Environmental for project costs.
¯ Hired Shawn Kepner to the newly created position of assistant director of maintenance at an hourly rate of $15.75.
¯ Created an additional full-time deputy sheriff position to offset shortcomings with security measures in the Juniata County Courthouse.
¯ Approved the creation of a full-time fiscal manager position within the commissioners office. Gray said those duties, including the handing of contracts and grants, have traditionally been covered by the county treasurer's office, which is technically by law, not the responsibility of the treasurer. "This doesn't mean that we're hiring someone tomorrow," Gray said. "But we need to find someone to fill this important role in the future."
¯ Approved payment of bills in the amount of $43,212.26.