LAWRENCE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 'Vote for 2' rule has folks wondering
Changing the law would require an amendment to the state constitution.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- James Bintrim can't understand why he's allowed to vote for only two county commissioners, when three are to be elected.
"It's not right," said the Shenango Township man who questioned county commissioners about the rule at last week's commissioners meeting.
Bintrim's not alone.
Marlene Gabriel, director of elections in Lawrence County, said her office hears that same question every time there is a county commissioner election, but this year there seemed to be more calls.
"People are wondering the logic of it, but that's the way it is," she said.
One candidate also wonders about the logic.
"My personal feeling is, if you could have voted for three, it could have changed the outcome of the election," said Brian Burick, a two-term Democrat who lost in this last election.
Burick was the top vote-getter in the spring with 3,842 votes, but came in fourth in the general election with 7,850 votes. Republican Dan Vogler came in first with 13,077 votes, Democrat Steve Craig was second with 11,727 and two-term incumbent Republican Ed Fosnaught finished third with 8,852.
Burick said he plans to push to have the law reviewed, regardless of this year's election.
An uphill battle
"It's the only office where you can vote for [fewer] than the number of people running," he said.
But Burick's efforts could be an uphill battle.
Doug Hill, executive director of the Pennsylvania County Commissioners Association, said only an amendment to the state constitution can change the 100-plus-year-old law.
The general assembly would have to pass two identical forms of legislation in successive sessions, then voters would have to approve it.
Hill said he is unaware of any movement right now in the state Legislature to change the law, but there have been court challenges in the past. All have failed, he said.
"It's been litigated a number of times. I think it went into federal court in the 1970s or 1980s in the concept of One Man, One Vote," Hill said. "Even there, the federal courts said it has a particular intent and they didn't find any violation of the federal Constitution."
The law was primarily created to ensure two parties were represented in county government, he said.
"There was a sense that there needed to be some parity between the offices. If you ensure both parties are on the board, there would be less politicizing on the decisions being made," Hill said.
Background
He explained that before the 1950s, county commissioners were there largely to oversee the budgets of other elected officials. Their duties are much expanded, but the old law about minority and majority representation still applies.
"It does bring a certain balance to the board, but interestingly, the division on boards is not necessarily along party lines. It's not unusual to have a minority commissioner line up with a majority commissioner," he said.
But others argue that a change in the law could prevent a few thousand votes from being thrown out in each election because people will often vote for three commissioners.
Changes in election laws after the 2000 presidential race should prevent over-voting, he said.
Lever or touch-screen voting will be in place soon in most counties or scanners at polling places that can detect over-votes on a paper ballot before it is placed in the ballot box, he said.
Though state law requires that two parties be represented on election night, it doesn't require that the commissioners serving be of different parties.
Burick noted that in Fayette County, one commissioner ran as an independent and after the election changed his party affiliation to Democrat, making all three commissioners Democrats.
Hill added there was a similar case in Lancaster County.
"There's nothing wrong with that. It's what party you belong to when elected," he said.