MOUNT CARMEL - Northumberland County Commissioner Vinny Clausi did not violate any election laws Tuesday afternoon when he entered a polling station in the borough to rectify a dispute regarding a woman's eligibility to vote, according to the chairman of the county board of elections.
Clausi said he was talking to Mount Carmel Council President Tony Matulewicz outside the polling station at American Hose Company, Sixth and Vine streets, when an unidentified woman came out of the precinct complaining she was denied the right to vote because she wasn't listed as a registered voter for the primary election.
The commissioner said he went inside and questioned a male poll worker, who indicated the woman wasn't eligible, according to a book listing registered voters in the precinct. Clausi said he then called Alisha Herb, director of the board of elections, in Sunbury. The commissioner said Herb told him and the poll worker that the woman was registered to vote. For whatever reason, her name wasn't listed in the book at the voting precinct.
The woman was then allowed to vote.
Contacted Tuesday night about the incident, Northumberland County President Judge Robert B. Sacavage, who serves as chairman of the election board, stated, "I contacted the election board solicitor, Frank Garrigan, after being informed about the incident. We both believe there was no election law violation committed. Mr. Clausi was responding to a request for aid. In our opinion, it was just a misunderstanding. There was no attempt to violate any election laws. He (Clausi) was not electioneering for himself inside the poll."
Clausi, who was running for re-election in Tuesday's primary, said he was only trying to help a voter exercise her constitutional rights. The commissioner later called the poll worker at American Hose Company to apologize for the misunderstanding.
The poll worker, who refused to identify himself when questioned about the incident early Tuesday evening, said he accepted Clausi's apology and considered the matter closed. Other poll workers who witnessed the incident declined comment.
By law, candidates are prohibited from entering polling stations except to vote in their respective precinct. Clausi said he did not know he was prohibited from entering a polling place while a candidate except to vote.