First time in 8 years as Judge of Elections/not one absentee ballot

[Divernan]

I've been the (elected) Judge of Elections for my ward and district for 6 years, with 2 prior years as appointed JOE at a neighboring ward and district.

This afternoon I picked up my election materials for next Tuesday's primary, and for the first time have not a single absentee ballot. In earlier elections, the number of absentee voters has ranged from 3 to 10 at my polling place. If this is an augur/omen, it will be a record low turnout at the polls. A damn shame because we have 3 openings to be filled on our state's Supreme Court.

Also of interest, a local very active Republican (observed outside a polling place calling Obama "a thug&quot has just changed his registration to Democratic. At the same time, he still has Republican campaign signs in his front yard.

[jwirr]

1. I wonder if Rs might be switching over to influence the vote their way. That has been done before.

[Divernan]

2. Absolutely, but they'll have to switch back in 2016 for their presidential primary.

As the saying goes, no honor among thieves.

[Gothmog]

3. We are pushing vote by mail in Texas in order to combat voter id

Penns. did a good job of blocking the voter id law. In Texas we are pushing vote by mail for older voters who more likely to have problems with voter id

[Divernan]

4. Voting in person is very important to older voters.

Better an absentee ballot/voting by mail than not voting at all, but it's a shame. I'm judge of elections at a polling place located in an 8 story high rise for senior citizens, itself located in a community with many condos for senior citizens. We consistently get the highest voter turnout of any ward/district in the area. I believe voting is the last action/activity through which elderly people feel they have a role to play in their community. The elderly in the high-rise building are able to vote no matter the weather or having to get a ride to a polling place. Many are in wheel chairs or using canes and walkers but they are HAPPY to vote. It truly means something to them.

And of course their drivers' licenses have expired. PA's proposed but defeated voter ID law required a photo ID with an expiration date. For example, one of our regular voters in a wheel chair only has one photo ID. It's his VA card he uses for treatment at the local VA hospital. It further identifies him as a Purple Heart winner. But no expiration date. So it would not have been good enough for the asshole Republicans in our state who were pushing for the voter ID. I'd have been forced to say to him, the country thanks you and I thank you for your service and your sacrifice. But step back from that voting machine!

PA's law was killed because on appeal to our Supreme Court, the sponsors could not produce one single example of voter fraud at the polling places.

Last election I saw what a Republican would have called attempted voter fraud. One of our 85+ year old voters - a sweet lady - came in and voted after breakfast. Then in midafternoon, she stopped by again to vote. Of course she had simply forgotten she'd already voted! And the checks and balances we have in place in our balloting system allowed me to show her the card she had signed earlier that day when she'd voted. We gently kidded her about how patriotic she was; we all had a good chuckle, and that was that.

[Gothmog]

10. The court in the Texas voter id case found that vote by mail was not the same as voting in person

I agree that voting in person is better than voting by mail. For people without an id, vote by mail may be the only way that they can vote in Texas.

Voting by mail has a far higher rejection rate or chance that a ballot will not be counted compared to voting in person. There was a specific fact finding by the court in the Texas voter id case that voting by mail was not as good as voting in person

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Do you have other local races that are contested?

I find that judge elections do not bring anyone to the polls, since there is just no way for people to know anything about the judges, especially the state level positions. Before I became active in the Dem party, I would skip the judge races when I voted since I had no idea who was good and who was not....better to not vote. Even now, with all the info that I get, I know little on judge races. All I know is who other Dems are supporting, and luckily, I trust their judgment.

[Divernan]

6. My long detailed reply to you just crashed!

County Auditor Chelsa Wagner has been unconscionably and very vaguely (never a specific example of what they're claiming) smeared and lied about by her dem. opponent, who is a lap dog for county executive Rich Fitzgerald. Chelsa committed the unpardonable sin of auditing Fitzgerald's various administrative agencies and departments, and he's ordered them to refuse to cooperate. That was after Chelsa's audit nailed him to the tune of $45,000 for private use of a county vehicle. She is an extremely competent, well-educated and intelligent woman (being a woman is another strike against her for the guys who run the county). The Post-Gazette endorsed her; the Trib-Review endorsed her opponent.

The big attack on Chelsa is the claim that she gave herself a big raise as soon as she took office 4 years ago. WRONG! Upon taking office, she was asked if she would accept the COLAs her predecessor had refused. She did accept them, as did County Treasurer John Weinstein, and this brought both of them up to the same level of pay as the other (all male) county row officers.

When you have a county like Allegheny, completely under the control of one party for decades, you need an independent auditor - not a suck up lap dog whose campaign was financed and controlled by the man he's supposed to audit.

As far as judicial races go, I've gotten to hear nearly all of the candidates for county court speak at a couple of Dem gatherings. All but one are basically qualified for the job, so I'm going with the ones from working class backgrounds, i.e., Dad was a steel worker; mom was a nurse. I'm a retired lawyer - some years as a trial lawyer, some as a law professor and the last 10 as a legislative atty. for the state house. So I'm very comfortable evaluating judicial candidates.

At state supreme court level, I am delighted that 2 fine Democratic women candidates received highest qualified ratings from the state bar association. They are
Christine O'Donnell
and
Anne Lazarus.

Appreciate it if you vote for them!

[Curmudgeoness]

7. I hate when that happens.

I think we all have had a crash at an inopportune time.

Thanks for the info on judges. It helps to get info. I usually can get more information and meet the candidates for county judges, but it is the state level that is so difficult. I am always glad to vote for women! But without knowing anything about them, it could be some woman like Palin or Bachmann---yikes. You are at an advantage since you were a lawyer. Most of us really are at a loss.

Your county level election sounds important to me. We have several candidates for county commissioner here, so it is also important. But I have a feeling that there will not be a big turnout anyways. I could be wrong though. One thing that might get people off their asses is that we have had one commissioner who has been AWOL for at least two years, working in Florida while taking the paycheck from the county as well, so people are pretty pissed about that and might come out to vote.

Do you have any insight into the Superior Court (Dubow, Colville) or Commonwealth Court (Eagen, Wojcik)?

[Divernan]

8. I'm going with Colville & Eagen

Not any huge differences - the others would be OK also.

Interesting but not surprising development. Black female Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen was NOT endorsed by the GOP State Committee! Black and female? What did she expect? She had a higher qualification rating than one of whites they endorsed.

[Curmudgeoness]

9. That is incredible...aren't they trying to attract minorities?

I cannot figure out why blacks or women would ever want to be a part of the GOP. If she is highly qualified as you say, there is no excuse for not endorsing her. Shame. But she should have known better. Maybe she will make a change.

[Divernan]

11. Compare state bar endorsements w/ GOP's

Basically, the GOP endorsed 3 candidates, and only one of them was even rated at all by the state bar association - George, with a "recommended" rating. The other 2 did not agree to be rated at all. Meanwhile, black female Republican judge, Cheryl Allen, who was "highly recommended" by the state bar association, was NOT endorsed by the GOP.

http://www.politicspa.com/pennsylvania-bar-association-releases-2015-judicial-ratings/63352/

Pennsylvania Bar Association Releases 2015 Judicial Ratings
Each candidate who requested an evaluation was given one of three ratings: Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended.

According to the PBA JEC, a highly recommended candidate “possesses the highest combination of legal ability, experience, and temperament and would be capable of outstanding performance as a judge or justice of the court for which he/she is a candidate.”

A recommended candidate is based on legal ability, experience, integrity, and temperament. He or she “would be able to perform satisfactorily as a judge or justice of the court for which he/she is a candidate.”

Finally, a not recommended candidate is “based on legal ability, experience, integrity or temperament, or any combination thereof, at the present time, the candidate is inadequate to perform satisfactorily as a judge or justice of the court for which he/she is a candidate.”

The PBA JEC’s ratings are as follows:

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Highly Recommended

Judge Cheryl L. Allen, Allegheny County

Judge Christine L. Donohue, Allegheny County

Judge Anne E. Lazarus, Philadelphia County

Justice Correale F. Stevens, Luzerne County

Judge David N. Wecht, Allegheny County

Recommended

Judge John T. Bender, Allegheny County

Judge Kevin M. Dougherty, Philadelphia County

Judge John H. Foradora, Jefferson County

Judge Michael A. George, Adams County

Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer, Centre County

Judge Paul P. Panepinto, Philadelphia County

Judge Dwayne D. Woodruff, Allegheny County

Not Recommended

Rebecca L. Warren, Montour County

GOP endorses three candidates for Pa. Supreme Court
Written by The Associated Press | Feb 1, 2015 6:56 AM

(Harrisburg) -- The Republican State Committee has endorsed candidates for three openings on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, but that doesn't mean they'll be the only ones on the May primary ballot.

Adams County President Judge and former Adams County District Attorney Michael George, Superior Court Judge Judy Olson and Commonwealth Court Judge Ann Covey have won the committee's endorsements for the nominations.

[Curmudgeoness]

12. Thanks for all the help with these judge races.

I cannot imagine what the GOP is thinking. It is almost as if they are trying to make themselves the party of incompetence.

[blue neen]

13. Thanks for the info on the judges' races, Divernan.

There is much to consider tomorrow!