DA to investigate inconsistencies in candidate Art Halvorson’s petitions
The Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office will review petition signatures submitted by 9th Congressional District Republican candidate Art Halvorson which allegedly include signatures of deceased individuals and those who live out of state.
On Tuesday, First Assistant District Attorney Fran Chardo confirmed that the office has received information that questions the validity of some signatures that appeared on the petitions filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State, Election Commission, in early February.
The local district attorney’s office is routinely the first level sought out in such matters because of its proximity to the Harrisburg location of the commission, said Chardo.
“We review those occasionally,” he said. “Right now, I’m trying to determine whether it should be our case or the case of the Blair County district attorney.”
Chardo said that his office or the Blair County district attorney will likely focus on the affadavit that accompanies the petitions.
“The affadavit swears that the signatures are accurate and obtained (in the circulator’s) presence,” he said. “So, if it is a lie, it will be a criminal act.”
Chardo declined to speculate how soon an investigation would be launched into the matter.
“It is very early,” he said. “We only recently received the information.”
Halvorson is seeking the GOP nomination in the April 26 primary against incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg.
Joe Sterns, Halvorson campaign spokesman, said late Tuesday that Halvorson and the committee were unaware of the alleged wrongdoings, but would take swift action to rectify the matter, if warranted.
“From our assessment, this appears to be an act of one individual, but we have to question why anyone associated with this campaign would risk embarrassment over 40 signatures when we filled over 3,000 (signatures) — three times the required amount,” said Sterns in an emailed statement. “We will cooperate fully with any investigation into this matter and welcome the process that will shed light on this subversive action.”
A review of Halvorson’s petition signatures showed several irregularities when matched with voter data cards filed with the Blair County Election Bureau.
In addition to differing signatures, many of those that had allegedly signed the petitions were deceased or had moved away from the congressional district.
Sarah Seymour, Blair County election bureau director, confirmed that Jay H. Slagle of Altoona had died in August 2014, and was no longer a registered voter.
However, his purported signature, along with his printed name and address appeared on the Halvorson petition. The filed petition indicated the signature was obtained on Jan. 26, 2016.
“(Slagle’s) registration was cancelled after we found his obituary,” said Seymour on Tuesday.
Katelyn N. Slagle, too, allegedly added her signature to the petition. However, Seymour said her registration was cancelled when she moved out of the state nearly two years ago.
Scott Kohle purportedly signed the Halvorson petition on Jan. 30, yet his voter registration card states that his eligibility to vote in the 9th Congressional District was cancelled in August 2015 when he relocated.
According to Blair County records, Kohle moved to Arizona.
Steve Rose also moved from Blair County in July, 2015, yet his name appeared on the Halvorson petition.
All tolled, approximately 45 signatures do not match the Blair County records that maintain a signed registration card for each voter.
Seymour said that her office does not receive a copy of the filed petitions.
When contacted on Tuesday, Andy Post, Shuster’s campaign manager said that Halvorson should be held accountable if the the signatures were not of Blair County voters.
“If Art Halvorson’s campaign did in fact break the law, this is an extremely troubling matter that needs to be looked into immediately,” he said. “These are serious allegations, and if true, Art Halvorson should take responsibility.”
There are 40,831 registered Republicans in Blair County and 23,734 registered Democratic voters.
Candidates seeking any office in Pennsylvania must gather a certain number of signatures to appear on the primary ballot, said Wanda Murren, Department of State press secretary.
U.S. Congressional candidates are required to collect 1,000 valid signatures. For this election cycle, the signatures could be gathered between Jan. 26 and filed with the state election department in Harrisburg by Feb. 16.
Those that circulate petitions must reside in the candidate’s district, according to the state election code. However, due to recent court cases the rule is not being applied during this election cycle, said Murren.
The 9th Congressional District includes all of Fayette, Indiana, Bedford, Blair, Fulton and Franklin counties, along with parts of Greene, Washington, Westmoreland, Cambria, Huntingdon and Somerset counties.
Once received by the Harrisburg office, the department staff scans the documents and then the paperwork is reviewed, said Murren.
“The reviewer looks for the candidate’s affidavit, that each page of signatures is notarized, and a quick scan that every line is filled in with an address, the date it is signed and that there is a signature and printed name,” she said. “We’re not looking to see if the same person signed five times.
“We do not do any sort of a verification of the signatures, only that every line is filled out.”
Shuster submitted about 3,400 signatures to the state election commission to have a position on the primary ballot.
Neither campaign offered objections to their challengers’ petitions.
On Feb. 1, Halvorson put out a press release touting that the campaign was the first to amass the required number of signatures.
“(The campaign) gathered over 1,000 signatures in just six days, believed to be a record-setting time for Pennsylvania’s 9th congressional district,” said the Halvorson campaign in the release. “To meet the 1,000-signature threshold so quickly is a clear sign that taxpayers in the 9th District have had quite enough of the Washington Cartel led by career politicians like Bill Shuster and the lobbyists who bankroll him.”
Sterns, meanwhile, said the committee will cooperate with the Dauphin County district attorney.
“It is our hope the investigation will clarify if this was a case of deliberate internal sabotage encouraged from ouside influences or simply the actions of one misguided, inexperienced individual,” he said. “Regardless of the intent, we do not tolerate dishonest behavior and will be severing all ties with the individual in question.”
The filed petitions of both candidates can be found on the state department website at www.dos.pa.gov/VotingElections.