Burns submits Right-to-Know requests on Cambria voting failure
Details sought from county commissioners, State Department
Rep. Frank Burns January 21, 2025 | 12:29 PM
EBENSBURG, Jan. 21 – Zeroing in on statements and claims made by top Cambria County officials, state Rep. Frank Burns has unleashed multiple Right-to-Know requests seeking verification and insights about the Election Day voting fiasco and ongoing investigation into a massive systemic failure.
Seizing on Cambria County solicitor Ronald N. Repak’s admission that the county is “working intimately in tandem with the Department of State” and has “come up with a plan” to guide an internal investigation, Burns has sent separate RTK requests to the Cambria County Commissioners – who double as the county Election Board – and to Department of State Secretary Al Schmidt, seeking all documents and communications on their joint effort.
Responding to Cambria County Commission Chairman Scott W. Hunt’s assurance that the electronic voting machines were tested prior to the Nov. 5 election – where they failed to properly scan ballots on a countywide scale – Burns has filed a separate RTK request of Commissioners Hunt, Keith Rager and Thomas C. Chernisky.
Burns is asking the commissioners for details on that testing procedure, led by how many machines were tested and who was present for the testing. Burns also wants to know exactly how many ballots could not be scanned, and how many replacement ballots were obtained from William Penn Printing Co. and distributed to polling places on Election Day.
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“Everyone who voted — Democrat, Republican and Independent — deserves to know why their ballot would not scan properly and who dropped the ball to let that failure occur.” – Rep. Frank Burns
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“The focus of everyone at the top investigative echelon seems to be, ‘We're committed to making sure this never happens again,’ instead of, ‘Who is responsible for letting this happen in the first place, and how will they be held accountable?’” Burns said. “Everyone who voted — Democrat, Republican and Independent — deserves to know why their ballot would not scan properly and who dropped the ball to let that failure occur.
“Relying on the county commissioners to basically lead an investigation of themselves, as they serve as the county Election Board while also overseeing and hiring everyone in the county Election Office, makes no sense whatsoever. We all know how that type of ‘internal investigation’ will end.”
Burns said the purpose of his Right-to-Know requests is to peel back the curtain all the way, so the stage on which this drama is playing out is in full view of an eager Cambria County audience.
“I won my election — but that’s not what matters here. Everyone deserves to know exactly what happened, so there can be accountability for such a huge systemic failure,” Burns said. “How can machines that the commission chairman says were tested prior to the election and apparently working properly suddenly fail to scan ballots on Election Day — not just in one or two precincts, but across the entirety of Cambria County?”
Burns said he needs those details to prepare any state-level legislation that might be needed to address shortcomings in how counties prepare for Election Day. He also plans to share the results of his RTK requests with the public.