Provisional board member axed after call to poll watcher

Westmoreland County commissioners unanimously fired a Republican volunteer from his role as a member of the county’s provisional board for partisan activity during ballot reviews.

Commissioners said Thomas Altman, 70, of Ligonier, improperly coordinated efforts with a Republican campaign poll watcher to challenge contested provisional ballots earlier this week.

Altman was one of 28 Republican and Democratic volunteers appointed last week by county commissioners to serve on seven boards to review the eligibility of about 3,600 provisional ballots cast at the polls on Nov. 3. He was among the few who continued to work over the last two weeks while others quit after a coronavirus outbreak caused Elections Bureau staff to quarantine and disputes arose about volunteers who improperly wore masks during the ballot reviews.

Each review board consisted of an equal number of Democratic and Republican volunteers who assessed the ballots to determine if they were legally cast.

Commissioners said Altman called an attorney representing the Trump campaign on Monday to recommend a challenge of a ballot rejected by his provisional board.

“The poll watcher wasn’t even in the room. He was in Disney World,” said Democratic Commissioner Gina Cerilli.

Republican Commissioner Doug Chew chastised Altman’s behavior.

“By acting as a proxy for a poll watcher you are, in essence, challenging your own decision,” Chew said.

Altman called the commissioners’ decision to remove him from provisional board “evil” and said there was no rule that prevented his call to a poll watcher.

“You can’t make up rules as you go. Shame on you,” Altman said.

Westmoreland County solicitor Melissa Guiddy said that only certified poll watchers who were present in the room for the provisional ballot reviews are permitted to file a challenge.

Commissioners, acting as the county elections board, did not consider the challenge to the ballot identified by Altman. As a result, that ballot will not be counted.