"We recently reviewed the records for all registered voters in Chester County," the three-page document, addressed to a voter, stated. "Based on the examination of the records ... we believe your voter history may be in error."
Referring to a photocopy of the voters' election record history that was attached, the letter advises that records showed that the addressee had not cast a ballot in the November 2020 presidential election. "Because you have a track record of consistently voting, we that it unusual that your record indicates you did not vote" in that election, the letter, a copy of which was provided to a Media News Group reporter, stated.
There was no signature on the letter, and the return address was to a heretofore unknown organization called "Data Insights, Chester County, PA." An internet search for that group turned up with no matches for that name.
The thought that one's vote in an election as contested and decisive as the 2020 election, which saw Joe Biden defeat then-President Donald Trump, would be of obvious concern to anyone who cares about the democratic process. And the authors of the letter, anticipating that reaction, suggested that the voter contact the county commissioners' office through mail or phone, or attend a commissioners' meeting in September or October.
By the start of last week, the calls had started coming in.
As of Friday, the commissioners' office had received 12 calls and 14 letters; the county's Office of Voter Services had received around 15 calls.
But as officials from Voter Services explained to those who called, the suggestion that the votes cast by those calling had not been counted was misleading. While the records might reflect the lack of a vote check, that did not mean that the ballot cast was missed.
In a statement read Wednesday at the start of the monthly commissioners' meeting, County Administrator Bobby Kagel gave a scenario in which a voter might have cast a ballot, but not have their name checked off the voter book at their local polling place.
Say, for example, the voter had requested a mail-in ballot, filled it out, but then for whatever reason appeared at the polling place to vote in person. Their mail-in ballot would have been retrieved by the poll worker and an in-person ballot issued, but other paperwork might have inadvertently been skipped.
"Should there be an error when voters check-in at their polling place — perhaps forgetting to sign their name in the poll book, or perhaps a bar code on the poll book was not scanned properly — then voter credit may not be given," Kagel told those in attendance, some of whom had arrived to ask about the ballots. "But the ballot has still been scanned and counted.
"Tabulation, or counting, of ballots and "voter credit" are two very different things," he noted. "Ballots are counted in Chester County as they run through the scanner, so if a voter completed their ballot in-person at their polling place, and watched the ballot being scanned, then they voted, and their vote was counted."
County spokeswoman Rebecca Brain said Sunday that those voters who contacted the commissioners' office had been told that their votes had been confirmed. It was unclear what the status of the ballots of voters who obtect Voter Services directly was.
Kagel said the county did not know who sent the letters or what the mysterious organization had done to access the public records of the county. But given the continuing questions over election integrity that bedevil the commissioners — more than two dozen people spoke at the meeting Wednesday raising various questions about past election results and voter rolls — county officials took pains to address those questions by individual voters.
Individual staff people from Voter Services were on hand to answer any questions that a voter might have, Kagel said.
"We don't know who sent the letter to selected voters and what its intent was," said Karen Barsoum, director of county Voter Services in a statement Friday. "Certainly, miscommunication can lead to misunderstandings and wrong assumptions by voters, which can be intensified by social media. So we ask that, in every instance, when a voter has a question or concern, please contact Voter Services. Our staff is here to help."
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