House Democrat sues Pennsylvania county for not certifying election

Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) sued the elections board in Luzerne County, Pa., on Tuesday after it did not certify its vote canvass over paper shortages at polling places.

The board’s two Republicans opposed certification at Monday’s meeting, while two Democrats voted in favor and the other abstained.

The suit, filed by progressive elections firm Elias Law Group and a Pennsylvania-based firm, argued the county was required to certify by Monday under state law, describing it as a “ministerial act” that the board had no discretion to defy.

“Indeed, boards must certify the result of election returns regardless of any error or fraud that is discovered during the count or certification process,” the suit states, noting a Pennsylvania statute that instructs boards to instead file reports about fraudulent or erroneous returns to a district attorney.

On Election Day, a judge extended voting by two hours in Luzerne County after election workers discovered the paper shortage. It’s unclear how many voters were affected.

Republican board member Alyssa Fusaro cited the paper shortage, machine jams and a lack of voter privacy in voting against certification.

“To certify an election, it’s an attestation that we are witnessing the election process and can say that the process was carried out properly and successfully,” she said at the meeting. “Not only have we not carried out a successful election process, but there were several things — we can’t say that this was conducted freely and fairly and that every vote counted.”

Democratic board member Audrey Serniak, who voted to certify, noted stopgap measures on Election Day that allowed people to use provisional and photocopied ballots.

“People are, well, obviously angry, but I can’t see any massive fraud in this,” she said as an attendee shouted, “Liar!”

“I do not see any massive fraud. I don’t see anything that would lead me to disenfranchise the voters here,” Serniak added.

Cartwright, who represents parts of the county and narrowly won reelection, lost the portion of Luzerne located in the district by 2 percentage points to Republican Jim Bognet.

Republican Senate nominee Mehmet Oz carried the entire county by 9 points over Sen.-elect John Fetterman (D), who won the race.

But Luzerne County voters favored Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro (D) over Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano by 1 point.