Election bureau ordered to respond to appeal
Commonwealth Court has required the Fayette County Election Bureau to file a response to an appeal dealing with the May primary by Monday. The order issued Tuesday denied a request from bureau solicitor Sheryl Heid to delay filing paperwork that detailed the county’s side of the matter until September. The appeal in question is to a lawsuit filed by Robert “Ted” Pritchard Sr. of Fairchance, who sued in Fayette County Court, alleging that there was voter fraud in the primary. A county judge dismissed the matter, prompting his appeal to the Commonwealth Court.
Pritchard alleged that the county’s failure to purge voter records could have led to people impersonating voters who were dead or had moved away.
He theorized in the lawsuit that that something was afoul because he received no votes in a race for magisterial district judge in two of the 19 voting precincts. Pritchard indicated in a recent filing that he “would have been successful if it were not for the fraud and irregularities.”
Pritchard ran for magisterial district judge against incumbent Magisterial District Judge Randy Abraham and Senior Magisterial District Judge Brenda Cavalcante.
Abraham bested both on the Democrat ticket, and defeated Cavalcante on the Republican ticket as well, virtually assuring a victory in the fall. Pritchard did not cross-file, and only appeared on the Democrat ballot.
On the Democratic ticket, Pritchard, who has run for other offices over the years, received 63 votes. Abraham received 3,012 votes and Cavalcante received 970 votes.
He also unsuccessfully ran for constable in the primary.
In addition to filing a brief in the case, the county also will have to file a response to Pritchard’s request for a stay. He wants a judge to stop the county from certifying the primary results.
Pritchard, who unsuccessfully ran for county sheriff and dropped out of a race for Congress, has announced his plans to mount a bid for lieutenant governor.