Westmoreland County Republicans have accused Democratic commissioners Tom Ceraso and Tom Balya of exerting influence on elections bureau officials to get a head start in contacting absentee voters for their support in the Nov. 6 election.
But the county's solicitor says the dispute may be more rooted in semantics than politics.
Republican officials -- in support of GOP challengers Kim Ward and George Dunbar -- say they attempted to obtain a list of absentee voters from the county election bureau but were told it would not be available until Oct. 30. About 1,200 of nearly 264,000 registered voters requested the ballots, according to county records.
Ward and Dunbar are seeking a GOP majority on the three-member board of commissioners. Republican Commissioner Phil Light is not seeking re-election.
Westmoreland County Republican Committee Chairman Perry Christopher claimed that Democrats got a jump on the absentee list. He cited two Ceraso mailings, both postmarked Oct. 18, sent to a Westmoreland resident attending Penn State's Altoona campus and Dunbar's daughter, Stephanie, a sophomore at Slippery Rock University.
County Solicitor R. Mark Gesalman said applications for absentee ballots are public records available for viewing at any time. As the applications are received, election bureau workers keep a "running list" of the applicants, he said.
A certified "final list" must be available by the Tuesday before the election, according to the state Election Code.
Gesalman said anyone can look at the running list or the individual applications at any time.
But that was not the case recently when Republican Party officials asked new Election Bureau Executive Director Jim Montini for a look at the list.
Montini denied Republicans access but then changed his mind.
He said he initially denied the request while he checked with county attorneys to see if access is permitted under the state's election code.
"We investigated the issue and determined they can have it," said Montini, who will preside over his first general election as executive director. "The Democrats didn't get the list first."
Montini, who previously worked in the county's computer information systems department, was hired early this year to run the bureau after the retirement of Paula Pedicone.
Under Pedicone's administration, unfettered access to the absentee ballot list was permitted, Christopher said.
State officials said that handling of the applications is fairly uniform across the state.
"Counties keep an ongoing log of the voters who requested absentee ballots. Many actually keep this log on the counter at the election bureau for public inspection, so yes, it is a public record. Following the election, the counties typically compile the complete list for distribution," said Cathy Ennis, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of State.
Christopher said that because of the delay, Democrats were able to get a head start on their solicitations to absentee voters.
It could not be confirmed how or when Ceraso's camp received the names and addresses for that mailing.
Neither Ceraso nor running mate Tom Balya would comment on the matter.
"The fact that the Democrats were able to get a list of absentee ballot requests and the Republicans weren't is no shock," Ward said. "The Democrats have controlled every office in the courthouse for over 50 years, and it's become a good old boy system up there."
"I think it's safe to say that nothing surprises me any more," Dunbar said.
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