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PENNSYLVANIA: RENDELL'S ELECTION WATCHERS CAUSE CONTROVERSY [Chris Lilik 10/21 10:48 AM]

In Pennsylvania, we always seem to have allegations of voter fraud. But when Democrat Governor Ed Rendell decided to place "non-union, non-civil service" state employees at each election bureau in each of Pa.'s 67 counties, Republicans were skeptical of his motives.

AP:

"It's certainly curious and it has the potential to be a problem. We're certainly concerned," said Drew Crompton, an aide to Republican state Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer. "Look, if you put 150 hand-picked Democrat appointees out in our county election bureaus, doing who knows what, it surely will raise our
skepticism."

And even if Rendell sends state employees, can the county locals simply send them home? PoliticsPA.com's Sam Youngman reports that Congressman Don Sherwood (R., Tunkhannock) "suggested those same state workers are met with a closed door at the Wyoming County Courthouse if Rendell doesn't change his mind."

Fred Voight of Philadelphia election watchdog Committee of Seventy share Sherwood's sentiments. "'I think everyone has the 2000 jitters. I think people are going nuts. We're being attorney'd to death for no reason,' Voigt said. 'It's all paranoia. I don't see anything illegal about it, but if I was a county election director and didn't want them around, I'd just kick them out.'" (AP)

Other Rendell personnel choices are causing controversy as well. Republicans, for example, were not too happy with Rendell choosing Philadelphia attorney Mark Aronchick to act as a Pa. expert election-law consultant. Aronchick had assisted Gore with his legal battles in 2000 and the AP reports that he had said that "Democrats were up against 'evil forces' and 'a heart of darkness' in the presidential election."