Montco GOP Chair, Liz Havey, Testifies At State Senate Election Hearing

She testified that “after the primary, our committee prepared and provided to the state legislative leaders, and members of the Montgomery County staff in charge of the election, a 30-page report of the mail-in ballot and election day problems and irregularities we experienced in Montgomery County.”

She continued, “There were a number of issues that evidenced a total lack of transparency regarding the handling of the general election in Montgomery County. 

First the Republican Committee of Montgomery County was not provided a meaningful view of the mail-in ballots at any time, despite our requests. Second, we were not provided with regular detailed information about the mail-in ballots over the course of the election, despite our requests. Third, we still lack complete and detailed information about these ballots, despite our written requests. 

We were provided our first opportunity to view and learn about the canvassing site on Sunday, November 1,  just two days prior to the election. At that visit, the Chief Operating Officer of the county, showed us the room where the canvas was to take place. To our shock, we were told we could not directly check the mail-in ballots. After some significant push back by me, the county agreed to allow two watchers inside the room, but they were never able to see the ballots up close. Again, there was no meaningful observation of the ballots, and absolutely no check of the ballots by anyone, other than the county staff, which is all run by the Democrats; as to whether or not these ballots met election code criteria. At the most basic level, we were not even able to check to see if a voter voted twice, or if a voter was deceased. And with the removal of the signature being a check for existing voters, there was no way to protect against someone fraudulantly voting for a registered voter.

In addition to having no meaningful observation or review over  200,000 mail-in ballots, we were not provided with the change in rules by the county, to allow the curing of mail-in ballots in a timely manner. 

On Thursday, October 29, I received an email from Frank Dean, who ran the election for the county; with a list of ballots with what they described as defects; and if the voter had been contacted by the county to cure the defect. 

At the tour of the canvas on November 1, we were shown bundled mail-in ballots, divided by precincts, which the county identified as having a defect, and explained that those individuals had not cured these ballots, as of November 1. The county did not provide the Montgomery County Republican Committee with an opportunity to have an authorized representative in what was effectively the pre-canvas – the legal term – pre-canvas of the ballots, when it reviewed and contacted voters about their defective mail-in ballots. After an immediate investigation it was clear that other counties across Pennsylvania were not allowing this illegal pre-canvassing to take place. In particular, our neighboring county, Berks County, a county that the president won by over 8%, interpreted the law as written, and did not contact voters to cure ballots, weeks prior to the election, as Montgomery County did.

A portion of Berks County and most of Montgomery County share one congressional seat, so voters were not treated equally in these two counties in the same district. 

Since the election, we have received many calls and emails from Republicans with questions about whether their mail-in ballot was counted; expressing concerns that they did request a mail-in ballot, but received one any way, that they were made to vote provisional, when they shouldn’t have; that they have great concerns about the efficacy of this election. 

There is a real disenfranchisement of voters across Montgomery County. Many people feel that their vote did not count. 

Because we lack the information we need to tell them otherwise, and because we were not able to have any meaningful check on mail-in ballots, we cannot provide these concerned voters with the assurance they need, that the process was fair, and that the election was honest. 

In addition to the lack of transparency we experienced in Montgomery County; The Kathy Barnette for Congress Campaign found with just the minimal information that we have been able to obtain, that at least 188 deceased people in Montgomery County voted in 2020. They also found concerning anomolies in the results. For example, more people voted in the small town of Norristown for the very first time, than the voters who vote regularly. This occurence is far outside the norm of what we have seen in past elections. These numbers must be reviewed and analyzed. In fact, a full review of the mail-in ballots across the state must be done. 

In order for this country to have trust in the electoral process, elections must be viewed as open and transparent. Both the Democrats and the Republicans should be provided with the same information throughout the process, and there should be meaningful opportunity to observe and object – not last-minute disclosures and rule changes. This legislature must reform the election law to provide for such transparency all along the mail-in ballot process, from start to finish. And people need to feel confident that the same rules apply to each and every voter in every town and in every county in the state. Thank you.”