HARRISBURG – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said nine counties — including Cameron County — missed his Feb. 8 deadline to provide information about how they are selecting new voting equipment for the 2020 election.
“I am continuing my work across Pennsylvania to make sure that our next election is secure, that every eligible voter has a chance to vote, and that all votes are counted properly,” DePasquale said.
In December, DePasquale announced that he would review purchasing of voting machines by counties after it was reported that Luzerne County’s elections director accepted trips from a vendor that was selected to provide voting equipment.
Last month DePasquale asked every county election office to answer six questions related to the selection of new voting equipment. The nine counties that failed to respond by the Feb. 8 deadline were Armstrong, Cameron, Chester, Forest, Greene, Huntingdon, Mercer, Philadelphia and Westmoreland.
“There is a lot of taxpayer money at stake and we need to make sure everything is done right,” Depasquale said. “I believe that the people of Pennsylvania have a right to know the answers to my six questions, especially as we prepare for the next election. My job is to do everything I can to make sure that the selection process is open and transparent as possible.”
In April 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of State told counties they have until the end of 2019 to select new voting systems that feature a paper record, which allows for more accurate post-election audits. The new systems are to be in use no later than the 2020 primary, and preferably by the November 2019 general election. Counties may choose from among any of the voting systems that are certified by both the federal and state governments.
DePasquale is also auditing the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors within the Department of State. He launched that review after the Department of Homeland Security said Pennsylvania was one of 21 states targeted for hacking by Russian government operatives ahead of the 2016 election.
