Westmoreland commissioner says county voters want end to no-excuse mail-in ballots, another disputes that

Drawing criticism from county Democrats, Republican Westmoreland Commissioner Doug Chew on Tuesday told a Pennsylvania Senate committee that his constituents want to eliminate no-excuse mail-in voting.

Chew testified before the Senate committee on election integrity and reform that more than 20,000 county residents were potentially disenfranchised during the 2020 presidential election. He blamed expanded mail-in voting as the culprit.

“My constituents want the elimination of mail-in ballots,” Chew said.

Chew was among a handful of county commissioners and elections officials who testified about issues experienced by local governments since the November election, which was the first time the state allowed any voter to cast a ballot by mail. That became possible after Act 77 passed in 2019 by a Republican-controlled state legislature.

Previously, mail-in voting was limited to absentee voters, who must declare a valid excuse for being unable to vote in person. Voters increasingly favored the mail-in balloting option as the pandemic surged this fall, leading to issues elections officials had not anticipated.

Nearly 60,000 — or about 29% — of the more than 206,000 votes cast in November in Westmoreland County were submitted by mail. Chew said almost 80,000 mail-in ballots were requested. He suggested Act 77 led to thousands of county residents being unable to vote.

He also claimed local voters continue to question the accuracy and legitimacy of mail-in ballots.

“A lot of Westmoreland County voters view mail-in ballots as very ripe for fraudulent activity; whether that is true or not remains to be seen,” Chew said Tuesday after the Senate hearing.

He said he has seen no evidence of voter fraud in the county, nor does he suspect there were any improprieties in last year’s presidential election.

While not personally advocating for permanent elimination of the vote-by-mail system, Chew called for a one-year moratorium on no-excuse mail-in voting to allow state lawmakers to make reforms that will enable local elections officials to better educate the public and poll workers about the process.

Chew’s testimony disputed

Westmoreland Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher, a Democrat, challenged Chew’s testimony.

“Doug Chew’s testimony absolutely does not speak for all voters in Westmoreland County and only for his political allies,” Thrasher said. “It’s ridiculous that he would use his position as an elected official and make such a false claim. Once again, a colleague is putting political party before the people he is elected to serve.”

Tara Yokopenic, chairwoman of the county’s Democratic Committee, said Chew’s testimony did not represent the voters who cast mail-in ballots last year, including more than 15,000 Republicans.

“I don’t know who Commissioner Chew is speaking for, but our voters like the ease and convenience of voting by mail,” Yokopenic said.

Chew conceded that his assessment was based on a partisan divide. He submitted comments both in favor of and against no-excuse mail-in voting, including a statement from county Republican Committee Chairman Bill Bretz, who criticized the process as one that opened the door to potential fraud and confusion.

In the aftermath of the presidential election, Republican lawmakers proposed a series of changes, including a rollback of no-excuse mail-in voting, increased voter identification provisions and the elimination of drop boxes used last year by some counties, including Westmoreland.

Other changes proposed

Tuesday’s hearing included testimony from others who lobbied for changes to the state’s election law to allow counties to begin an early pre-canvassing of mail-in ballots and an earlier deadline to submit applications for mail-in voting.

They also advocated for more specificity on how counties address potentially defective ballots and the use of drop boxes for ballots.

Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid called the state’s voting process a success. She testified that nearly 2 million ballots were by cast by mail in November and more than 6.9 million voters turned out for the election.

“Pennsylvania voters have embraced the ease and convenience of voting by mail without having to provide an excuse,” Degraffenreid said. “Thanks to the dedication of county election officials across the commonwealth, all Pennsylvania voters can cast their ballots with confidence that their votes will be counted accurately and securely and that their voices will be heard.”