EASTON, Pa. — State Rep. Milou Mackenzie renewed calls Thursday for Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure to resign, saying he should lose his job for his administration's failure to run a smooth election earlier this month.
In a statement she labeled a "letter to the editor" Thursday afternoon, the Lower Saucon Township Republican accused McClure of ducking voters and failing to accept responsibility for errors with the ES&S ExpressVote XL voting machines on Nov. 7.
Poll workers discovered early on Election Day that paper backups of ballots were not matching the selections some voters made on the touchscreens.
"The rights of the citizens of Northampton County cannot be disrespected and ignored. I ask again for his resignation," Mackenzie wrote.
Despite the widespread problems, the Northampton County Election Commission certified the results last week. An investigation by the county and ES&S, the machine's vendor, determined the names of two Superior Court judges were mislabeled on the paper printouts. An ES&S spokesman apologized for the mistake, and said it was not possible for the county to catch the mistake with the pre-election testing it provided county staff.
Officials said the machines accurately recorded votes in spite of the paper printouts showing a reversal of how people voted.
Both Superior Court judges won retention by wide margins; even if actual votes were affected, Northampton County's errors could not have altered the outcome of those races.
McClure, a Democrat, dismissed the attacks again Thursday, saying he would not step down and that he plans to seek a third term in 2025. Despite the problems, the county held a fair and accurate election with no challenges from any candidates, he said.
He accused Mackenzie and her allies of trying to score political points rather than addressing the issues that led to widespread problems. The machines worked as programmed, he noted. The problems arose because of a clerical error by an ES&S employee and the dearth of emergency ballots in polling places on Election Day.
"I think they are trying to sow discontent with the electoral process. They are not trying to defend or bolster it," McClure said.
On Friday, McClure announced the resignation of Charlies Dertinger, a staunch ally and the county's director of administration. The elections office reported directly to Dertinger.
Years ago, Dertinger and former registrar Amy Cozze set the precedent of sending only 20 emergency ballots to most polling places, McClure said. As a result, poll workers were left to scramble for what McClure called a "Black Swan event" when they encountered a problem they had not been trained to resolve.
During last week's Election Commission meeting, one woman said her polling place locked its doors for over an hour as poll workers tried to determine its next steps. LehighValleyNews.com has not been able to independently verify that claim, but it would likely violate federal law if true. McClure said Thursday he did not know if the claim was true but said poll workers acted without instruction from the county or Election Commission if it did.
"In retrospect, Charles and Amy's decision to not have more emergency ballots in precincts was the failure," McClure said. "It was a failure of our administration."
Dertinger's departure did not sate Mackenzie's call for repercussions, calling it a "distraction and a sham."
"The cowardly action of throwing a longtime friend and director of administration under the bus appeased no one and does not get to the root of the problem," she wrote.
Mackenzie's authority
Mackenzie did not immediately respond to an interview request regarding her letter.
In the piece, she questioned how the Northampton County Election Commission could certify election results given its knowledge of the widespread problems. She called for an investigation and wondered why McClure has not ended its contract with ES&S.
This Election Day was the second time in the past five general elections the machines faced widespread errors. In 2019, the machines' digital count lost tens of thousands of votes in a county judicial race. The county salvaged the election by relying on the paper printouts, which accurately recorded voters' ballots.
"How can an election that is a bonafide [sic] failure become certified and given a confident stamp of approval? I contend that it cannot!" Mackenzie wrote.
Mackenzie first called for McClure to resign three weeks ago, saying he needed to accept responsibility for the Election Day "fiasco." She later attended the Election Commission meeting, where she questioned if the commissioners were certain the other races were accurately recorded.
McClure was not at the commission meeting. He instead attended a Northampton County Council budget hearing that took place at the same time.
The commission voted 4-1 to certify the election. Solicitor Richard Santee advised the commission that because no candidates challenged the outcome of their race, the commissioners had no legal standing to withhold certification.
Unlike most of other 120 or so people who attended that meeting, Mackenzie theoretically has the authority to accomplish what she's demanding. The Pennsylvania House has the power to conduct investigations and change statutes. However, Republicans are a one-seat minority in the House, which would require Mackenzie to build bipartisan support if she pursued state action.
