Burns calls for county election reforms ahead of 2026 contests
“The public deserves accountability and answers”
Rep. Frank Burns May 7, 2026 | 10:26 AM
JOHNSTOWN, May 7 — With the 2026 election cycle approaching, state Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, is calling for new election reforms to strengthen voting procedures and restore public confidence -- citing documented issues in Cambria County from the 2024 election.
In November 2024, voting machines failed to scan ballots on Election Day because of a printing error, leading to long lines and disgruntled voters who left the polls without casting a ballot. Sheriff’s deputies rushed to Allegheny County for freshly printed ballots, and a judge ordered a two-hour extension of voting hours. Internal email communications, obtained through a Right-to-Know request by Burns, reveal that a chaotic ballot-counting process ensued, raising questions about the vote-counting process.
“What happened two years ago resulted in eroded trust and mass confusion,” Burns said. “Final results weren’t available for days, after sworn-in volunteers duplicated ballots by hand so they could be counted. We don’t need even a hint of any of that occurring again. The public deserves accountability and answers.”
To avoid complications this year, Burns is calling for added layers of protection to boost public confidence in Cambria County’s voting system, including:
- Publication of election process safeguards put in place by Cambria County.
- Strong oversight by the Pennsylvania Department of State in this year’s primary and general elections.
- Legislation to require standardized testing of voting machine equipment beforehand using the same ballots to be used in that specific election.
- Third-party audit of votes in the troubled 2024 general election.
Burns emphasized that his focus is on ensuring accurate and transparent elections moving forward. “This is not about candidates or past outcomes. It’s about voters -- making sure every ballot is accounted for and every vote is properly counted,” Burns said.
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“This is not about candidates or past outcomes. It’s about voters—making sure every ballot is accounted for and every vote is properly counted.”— Rep. Burns
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After the 2024 debacle, Burns submitted his own Right-to-Know requests to shed light on it, but Cambria County elections officials initially denied his requests. The internal communications about the fiasco were made public after the state Office of Open Records sided with Burns and ordered their release.
“We are now realizing why the county was fighting so hard to keep these records hidden,” Burns said. “Internal email communications raise serious concerns about a complete breakdown of election management by county officials.”
In a Dec. 4, 2024 email, Election Director Nicole Burkhardt described ongoing efforts to reconcile vote totals with poll book records, writing:
“We are working on the pollbooks to record the voters we are down to just comparing our totals with the votes cast the day of election. I don’t know if that is even possible to have every district to work out correctly..."
The same email also indicates that provisional ballots were found "in the back" after Election Day that had not been entered into the state system:
“I did come across some provisionals in the back that were not entered by Maryanne in the sure system.”
The language in this communication clearly calls into question the vote tracking at the precinct level following the 2024 election.
Burns said other serious issues were raised in another email from Cambria County Solicitor Ron Repak stating that a representative from the state Attorney General’s Office called “wanting answers to the election” and was coming to the county – and a follow-up Repak email clarified the attorney general’s representative was “responding to the issue on election day related to a staff member.”
Burns said it is important for election integrity to determine whether the poll books and votes-cast issue was reconciled, what happened to the partially filled-out ballots found “in the back,” and how the Attorney General’s Office’s concerns about an Election Day issue involving a staff member were addressed.
Burns’ Right-to-Know request even unearthed an important document that the county apparently didn’t know existed: a Certification of Logic and Accuracy Testing of its electronic voting system. Burns said the discovery of this document reinforces that the county’s management of the 2024 election deserves scrutiny.
Despite all the embarrassing fallout Cambria County received in 2024, Burns said public confidence was further eroded when the county still misprinted ballots for the 2025 primary election, after issuing assurances that stringent corrective measures had been put in place.
“The voters of Cambria County deserve transparency and accountability,” Burns said. “Right now, they have serious questions -- and they deserve real answers.”
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