Investigation finds no intentional act to derail Pa. sex-abuse vote

HARRISBURG — An internal investigation into an apparent bureaucratic blunder by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration that scuttled a statewide voter referendum sought by victims of childhood sexual abuse found no evidence of a deliberate attempt to derail it.

The Office of Inspector General’s report, released Wednesday, said agents interviewed 22 current and former state employees and reviewed the email accounts of nine state officials for any evidence of outside influence or intentional acts.

Rather, it said, Wolf’s Department of State — which oversees elections — had no executive office, bureau or executive staff member responsible for overseeing internal processes for constitutional amendments.

The revelation of the mistake sparked outrage in the community of childhood sexual abuse survivors. They questioned anew Wednesday how it was possible that the Department of State had successfully advertised every other proposed constitutional amendment.

The Department of State’s liaison to the Legislature resigned on Friday, but agency officials would not say whether it was related.

The referendum was to be on whether to give victims of childhood sexual abuse a fresh opportunity to sue their abusers and complicit institutions, a proposal propelled by investigations into Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses.

The referendum had been on track for last week’s primary election until Wolf’s administration revealed four months ago that it hadn’t advertised the proposal in newspapers across Pennsylvania, as is constitutionally required.

A referendum may now have to wait until 2023.