Incorrect ballots mailed to some Mt. Pleasant voters, Westmoreland County says

Westmoreland County officials acknowledged that more than 190 incorrect mail-in ballots were issued to voters in Mt. Pleasant Township.

Ballots issued to voters in four precincts — Ridgeview, Mammoth, United and Westmoreland Homestead — erroneously omitted the race for district judge to replace Michael Mahady, who will retire at the end of his current six-year term, according to a news release issued Friday evening.

Voters in those precincts were placed in a judicial district that no longer exists after it was eliminated last year as part of a judicial restructuring.

“Upon learning of the issue, the county took immediate action to identify the voters and to begin correcting the mail-in and absentee ballots. It is anticipated that the elections bureau will send corrected ballots to those impacted by early next week,” county commissioners said in a prepared statement.

Westmoreland County last week sent more than 15,000 ballots as part of an initial mailing and expected to issue another 800 ballots by week’s end.

Three candidates are seeking the judicial position in the district that now includes sections of Mt. Pleasant Township. The candidates, Assistant Public Defender Tamara Mahaday — the judge’s cousin — and behavioral health caseworker Rebecca Salandro are running in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.

Commissioners said voters who received a ballot with the omitted district judge race should return only the corrected ballot. The incorrect ballots should not be returned, according to officials.

County elections officials said ballots returned from four Mt. Pleasant precincts will be segregated. Only one ballot from each voter will be counted.

Voters seeking additional information can contact the elections bureau at 724-830-3575.

Tamara Mahaday issued a statement Saturday in which she said the county’s solution was not a sufficient remedy raises voter integrity issues.

“I am imploring the county to issue a supplemental ballot, that contains only the magisterial district judge race, and to hand-deliver or overnight the supplemental ballot no later than Monday, May 10th. This is the only way to begin to remedy the error and to ensure that every citizen’s rights are intact,” Mahaday said in the statement.