EASTON, Pa. — Northampton County’s top election official is confident this November will be much better than last after a post-primary audit raised no concerns Thursday.
“Everything checked out,” Elections Registrar Chris Commini told LehighValleyNews.com after more than 600 votes were hand-counted in a small room in the county Government Center.
Northampton was among 14 counties randomly selected to conduct a risk-limiting audit, Commini said.
The Pennsylvania Department of State ordered county officials to double-check several hundred mail-in ballots and results from one machine in Hellertown, he said.
The almost-foolproof “hand tally is always the best way” to confirm vote totals, Commini said. Those totals are matched against reports from the voting machines, giving officials “at least two checks” during the process.
“It was a slower turnout for this election, so it was a good check to see that our processes are working."Northampton County Elections Registrar Chris Commini
A Republican and a Democrat conducted the audit, with one reading voters’ choices in a particular race while the other kept count with tally marks.
“Erin. Erin. Ryan. No vote. Erin. Ryan,” one said — almost in rhythm — as they verified local totals in the race that saw Erin McClelland beat state Rep. Ryan Bizzaro for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania treasurer.
Without further ado
Northampton County on Monday audited 2% of the county’s votes, another post-election requirement meant to confirm the accuracy of election results and boost voter confidence, according to the Department of State.
County officials a day later quickly certified results from the primary elections without recounts or debate and only a few people watching.
That scene paled in comparison to the widespread confusion and concerns after November’s municipal election.
“Of course, there's things that we can certainly still implement. We'll do that moving forward, as well. There's always room for improvement.”Northampton County Elections Registrar Chris Commini
A programming error in Northampton County’s ExpressVote XL machines mislabeled two races, but election officials said machines recorded correct totals.
More than 100 people watched November's certification, with dozens of residents calling for the county not to stand by results in a four-hour meeting.
Just three people, including this reporter, watched Thursday’s risk-limiting audit.
The audit’s confirmation of unofficial election results and Tuesday’s almost-seamless certification make Commini hopeful for a similar outcome after the 2024 presidential election.
“It was a slower turnout for this election, so it was a good check to see that our processes are working,” Commini said.
“Of course, there's things that we can certainly still implement. We'll do that moving forward, as well. There's always room for improvement.”
Northampton County posted a 22.3% voter turnout, with 49,473 of 221,429 registered voters casting ballots in the 2024 primary, according to official results.
