CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — State Representative Frank Burns announced legislation focused on voting machine equipment and the use of printed ballots after Cambria County reported multiple issues during the 2024 Presidential Election.
The legislation would require standardized testing of voting equipment and machines before elections, something that Burns argued election officials have “too much” discretion on. If passed, county boards of election will be required to complete logic and accuracy testing for their electronic voting systems, which Burns noted would ensure the machines present candidates and contests in the correct order.
“Voting is a sacred privilege – a constitutional right that must be safeguarded,” Burns wrote. “When voters go to the polls on Election Day, they depend on voting machines to function correctly, and they assume that election officials have adequately prepared for ballots to be properly cast and efficiently counted.”
In a statement to WTAJ, the Solicitor for the Commissioner’s Office noted that the Pennsylvania Department of State already sets a standardization for logic and accuracy testing each year. The county argued that it already follows the standards set in place and did so leading up to and for the 2024 election.
As was stated previously by the County Commissioners, the error on November 5, 2024, was not caused by a failure in the L & A process, which was completed in accordance with such standards. L & A testing was completed without issue or errors. Following the L & A process, the ballots are shrink wrapped and security sealed to be delivered for the General Election. The ballot issues were not brought to light until the day of the election when the security seals were opened, and the first ballot was attempted to be scanned. As stated previously, due to a clerical error those ballots did not have the TIS marks required to scan. To the County’s knowledge and belief, the proposed legislation would not have changed nor altered the issues which occurred during the 2024 General Election as all testing was in compliance with L & A standards and resulted in zero errors upon completion of Logic and Accuracy. With that said, the County welcomes any legislation which continues to support the integrity of the election process and will certainly look forward to reviewing it.
Cambria County Commissioner’s Office Solicitor
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In November 2024, Cambria County notably had a malfunction with voting machines in which the ballots could not be scanned. It took several days after the Presidential Election to finish hand-counting the votes for a final tally. Burns argued that standard testing of ballots and machines prior to the election “could have avoided this debacle.”
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