By Scott Whaley
Publisher
It took Judge Joseph Howell just under 30 minutes to decide and dismiss the lawsuit that the Chester County Election Commission filed against County Mayor Barry Hutcherson Friday afternoon in Circuit Court.
According to Judge Howell, the Chester County Commission’s vote on July 31 to pull back the funding it had appropriated for the construction of a new building for the Election Commission was moot and sided with Hutcherson.
The lawsuit against Hutcherson was filed when he refused to sign the construction contract to build the $1.3 million structure. Since that time the County Commission pulled back the original funding and put it back in the county’s general fund.
Commissioners voted 11-5 to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to pay for the project in Nov. 2022.
The Election Commission office is currently located in the courthouse and their equipment is stored in the basement of the Public Safety Building.
According to Stephen Morris, the Election Commission has struggled with inadequate space for the safe and secure storage of the county’s voting equipment.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security delivered an audit to the Election Commission’s facilities. The report noted, “numerous security deficiencies in the Public Safety Building facility, including insecure vote counting areas, inadequate storage areas, and significant physical security issues.”
A future home for the Election Commission is in limbo now but for the present will remain in its current location. Administrator of Elections Kathy Vest said that she was concerned about finding another suitable location considering the 2024 upcoming elections.
