Vote-by-mail causes tension among board
NORRISTOWN » A contract amendment requesting roughly $1.31 million for additional materials for the upcoming election season caused a bit of a dustup between the Montgomery County Commissioners during the April 16 meeting.
Republican Commissioner Joe Gale voiced his opposition to the matter and requested that the funding request be separated from the other nine proposed items slated for the board’s consideration.
“Due to the language in the contract amendment, I don’t feel comfortable with this,” Gale
said during the meeting which was live streamed on the county website.
The contract with the county’s Voter Services Department and ElectionIQ LLC of Stow, Ohio was split into two parts. A $350,000 agreement was previously approved during a Feb. 6 meeting “for the furnishing and delivery of ballots for the 2020 primary and general elections,” according to the contract description.
The department requested an additional $960,300 for “vote-bymail ballots and postage” as part of the updated amendment presented Thursday morning. This brought the total contract agreement to $1.31 million.
According to the state’s voting and election website, mail-in and absentee ballots allow voters to submit their ballots remotely for a myriad of
“It’s a shame that we’re having politics during a pandemic. There is a serious public safety concern on June 2 to have an in person election.” — Montgomery County Commissioners Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence, Jr.
reasons including travel or illness.
Gale appeared to take issue with the “vote-bymail” phrase.
“I am strongly opposed to a total all vote-by-mail election,” Gale said. “It’s my belief that every registered voter deserves the opportunity to cast their vote privately in person on election day without fear of their ballot being lost or manipulated.”
Gale cited past “total mail-in ballot” elections “elsewhere” where “there was corruption in the process” and “inaccurate” counting of votes.
Due to the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gale anticipated an increased level of absentee ballots for this upcoming election year. However, he cited an issue with the 2016 general election in Montgomery County and expressed worry over absentee ballots being returned on time.
“Nearly 4,000 absentee ballots would have gone uncounted if a Montgomery County judge had not extended the absentee ballot return deadline,” he said.
Gale also expressed “political partisanship concerns” with an employee of the voter services department who “has a history of political partisan job appointment.”
Montgomery County Commissioners Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr., a Democrat, blasted his colleague for the comment.
“First of all, I just want to say I think it’s absolutely disgusting that Commissioner Gale would smear one of our employees,” Lawrence said.
“It’s a shame that we’re having politics during a pandemic,” Lawrence continued. “There is a serious public safety concern on June 2 to have an in-person election.”
Gov. Tom Wolf postponed the state’s primary election, previously scheduled for April 28. The state has not changed to a total voteby-mail election although some municipalities have requested it.
“This has nothing to do with an all vote-by-mail election,” Lawrence continued. “This is to ensure we have an election under the law of Pennsylvania right here right now.”
Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh, a Democrat, said she “support[ed] everything that Commissioner Lawrence just said.”
She also sought clarification on the matter from county Solicitor Joshua Stein.
She first asked if there was “anything in the [proposed] contract amendment that prohibits in-person voting,” to which Stein replied, “No.”
Arkoosh further pressed Stein to clear up any confusion surrounding the “vote by mail” initiative.
“It is my understanding the term vote by mail is the term that is used in Act 77 passed by our bipartisan fashion by the Pennsylvania General Assembly that enables not just absentee voting, but for voters who don’t qualify for an absentee ballot to choose of their own volition to vote by mail,” Arkoosh said. “Is that correct?”
Stein replied, “Yes that is correct.”
Arkoosh and Lawrence then voted in favor of the amendment while Gale dissented. The agreement was authorized.