WILLIAMSPORT – The Lycoming County Board of Elections could not meet in a voting session Monday because the Williamsport newspaper had failed to timely publish the required legal meeting notice.
It did not, however, prevent those in the crowded meeting room from again debating plans to hand count the ballots for president and one statewide row office from the 2020 election.
The county commissioners, sitting as the Board of Elections, in October voted 2-1 to accede to the wishes of the approximately 5,000 who signed a petition to do a recount to confirm the 2020 election results were accurate.
Had a vote been possible the board intended to approve the process for the recount and select the statewide row office.
County elections director Forest Lehman opposed the recount then and continues to do so professionally but said he now favors it personally to put to rest the unsubstantiated claims about that election.
He maintains the electronic tabulators are accurate, pointing out about 1,000 votes from last month’s election were hand counted and the totals matched the machines. Lycoming County uses paper ballots that are fed into a scanner.
The majority of those who spoke in favor of a recount said it is needed to restore integrity and credibility to the elections system they claim is now lacking.
However, unlike those previous meetings, several people either spoke against the recount or raised questions about its cost.
John Shabelski, for example, said it is time to move on. He understands people want to know if their vote counted but continuous questioning about the 2020 election leads to mistrust, he said.
He sees patterns in the United States similar to what occurred 100 years ago in Germany that led Hitler to gain power, he said. It is not a reach to look at what happened in Germany, he added.
“We’re not going to move on until we know what happened” responded Brenda Oberheim. Thousands feel they were disenfranchised, she said. “We have our rights,” she added.
William J. Miele questioned who is going to pay for the recount and suggested those who want it should be required to post a bond.
If the recount shows errors they would get their money back, he said. If no errors were found the county could keep the money to pay the cost, he said.
He does not agree with those who say people have lost confidence in the election, Miele said, pointing out that only 5,000 of the county’s 75,000 voters signed the petition. Those 70,000 have rights, too, he said.
Robert Pryor contended people like Miele are not worried about the cost of the recount but are concerned about the truth getting out.
There was no insurrection at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, he said. “We’re patriots,” he said. “We’re not going to put up with it anymore. We’re fed up.”
A person suggested if the recount proceeds it be done by nine impartial people selected like courts impanel a jury.
Another cited his opposition to mail-in ballots and drop boxes. Lycoming County does not use drop boxes. He advocated returning to one election day with provisions for absentee ballots.
All three commissioners voiced support for Lehman and the work his office does.
Commissioner Scott L. Metzger, one of the two Republicans who voted for the recount, called for voter ID and an end to voting “50 days out.”
He expressed resentment the election integrity issue has been bought to the county because there have been no allegations of fraud.
The recount, if it proceeds as planned, will put to bed the elections integrity issue, he pledged.
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