Republican solicitor and voters urge Chester County BOE to amend poll-watcher certificates and demand retraction

Dolores Troiani, solicitor for the Republican Committee of Chester County, told the board on May 15 that the poll-watcher certificates issued for the upcoming primary are overly restrictive and urged an immediate amendment so primary-elected party candidates can observe opening and closing of polls. "You ignored the law for political expediency," Troiani said, and asked that a letter she prepared be entered into the record and that the certificates be fixed before Tuesday.

Other public commenters backed Troiani. Lisa Detwiler Sifford, speaking from Area 6, said poll watchers "have a legal right to be present and serve as a non legislative party official elected by their party in their own primary election, even in their own precinct, period." Paul Celentano, a longtime Phoenixville judge of elections, described the November election as "the worst election in 26 years of my service" and attributed the problems to failures in voter services, claiming many voters were forced to cast provisional ballots and that some provisional envelopes were left unsealed. He called for a retraction and apology from Commissioner Josh Maxwell and urged formal censure if no public retraction was made.

The speakers cited legal context. Troiani referenced the Ethics Act and a 1950 court case, "In re General Election," to support her argument that candidates may observe certain poll procedures; she said the certificates' warning language could be read as excluding observation of openings and closings. The board did not debate or revise the certificates during the meeting; staff accepted Troiani’s written letter for the record and agreed to make copies on request.

Why it matters: Poll-watcher certificates define which party representatives may observe certain election activities; changes to certificate language can affect who is permitted inside polling places during critical moments such as opening and closing procedures. The comments also reiterate lingering public concerns about administrative handling of the prior November contest.

Board response and next steps: The board did not take formal action on the certificates during this meeting. Megan Moser, Deputy County Administrator, and staff noted the county will post action-plan updates online and that staff are reviewing procedures; the transcript records that Moser and staff will continue to follow up. The meeting proceeded with scheduled business and adjourned.