Virus outbreak delays Westmoreland vote certification

Westmoreland County Commissioners said a final certification of election results won’t come until after Thanksgiving as officials continue to deal with a coronavirus outbreak among employees tasked with completing the ballot count.

As of Wednesday, the outbreak that started days before the Nov. 3 election left just two full-time and one temporary elections bureau staffers on the job. All other department employees, including the director, have either tested positive for covid-19 or are quarantining at home as they await test results.

Commissioners transferred employees from other departments to perform some of the elections bureau work. But training those reassigned workers has slowed the counting process, officials said.

Eleven members of the elections bureau staff, including other county employees who were temporarily assigned to the department for the election, have tested positive for the virus, officials said.

“We are days behind and the state is aware of that,” said Melissa Guiddy, county solicitor.

Counties have a Nov. 23 deadline to certify election results. Because of the outbreak, Westmoreland County is at least five days behind schedule.

The Department of State has not responded to requests for comment about Westmoreland’s delay and the potential impact on a final certification of election results in Pennsylvania.

County commissioners, who serve as the elections board, said they intend to issue a pre-certification of election results on Nov. 23, a move that will start a five-day period to allow campaigns to ask for a recount.

“Unfortunately, all three of us are doing the best we can,” said Commissioner Gina Cerilli.

Commissioner Doug Chew said Dante DeCario, a member of the county’s fiscal department and the chief of staff to former Commissioner Ted Kopas, is overseeing Elections Bureau operations this week amid the coronavirus outbreak. DeCario had been assisting the elections department throughout November.

Cerilli, a Democrat, and Chew, a Republican, on Wednesday presided over additional hearings this week to adjudicate challenges to provisional ballots. Republican Commissioner Sean Kertes participated by phone as he quarantines at home. His chief of staff reported coronavirus symptoms over the weekend and is awaiting test results.

“We are not delaying this for a political purpose,” Kertes said. “We will get an update tomorrow to see where everybody is at and to look at our options.”

Commissioners said the counting of more than 600 late-arriving mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day was expected to be completed late Wednesday. Work by bipartisan boards to evaluate the eligibility of about 3,600 provisional ballots cast at the polls continues. Officials said that process is expected to be completed by late Thursday.

So far, no provisional ballots have been counted.

That delay leaves the outcome of the hotly contested state Senate race in the 45th District still in doubt. In that race, which includes parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, incumbent Democrat Jim Brewster leads Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli by 28 votes.

An Allegheny County judge on Wednesday denied two petitions by Ziccarelli to throw out roughly 300 provisional and 2,349 faulty mail-in ballots. She plans to appeal the decision, her lawyer said.

Officials said about 300 provisional ballots from that race remain uncounted in Westmoreland County.

“Everyone wants this election to be over. Allocate the resources you need to get the job done,” Eric Felack of New Kensington told election board members on Wednesday.

Frank Drancato of Lower Burrell urged commissioners to finish the count.

“It’s two weeks later and we still don’t know who our senator is. The lack of action by the elections board to count the remaining uncontested ballots is unfair,” he said. “Other counties have done it. Now is the time for Westmoreland County to do so, too.”