Office of Open Records orders Cambria County to search again for 2024 election failure
The state Office of Open Records ruled that the county's original reason for denying Burns' records request, citing a noncriminal investigation, was not valid, requiring the county to either provide the documents or legally attest that they do not exist.
Burns requested any documentation explaining the nature of the voting machine malfunction that led to ballots going unscanned and unaccounted for, as well as a tally of how many ballots were successfully or unsuccessfully scanned on Election Day.
The Nov. 5, 2024, issue reportedly involved voting machines that had passed pre-election testing but failed when used, prompting concerns from voters and lawmakers alike. Burns has continued to push for transparency surrounding the incident, stating that the public still has no clear explanation for what went wrong or how many ballots were impacted.
In response to an inquiry from WTAJ, Cambria County's solicitor, Ronald Repak, provided a statement acknowledging the OOR ruling and outlining the four key parts of the decision.
According to the county, the OOR deemed one of Burns' requests moot after the county turned over the logic and accuracy testing records. The OOR also denied Burns' request for a finding of bad faith, instead stating, 'The County has been timely, attentive, and professional in both its responses to the Requester and to the OOR and has made serious attempts to provide the Requester with the information he is seeking.'
The county confirmed the OOR did grant Burns' request for the number of ballots that failed to scan, which officials say occurred because the ballots did not include TIS (timing) marks required by the tabulation system. The county said this issue affected all ballots when polls opened.
Additionally, the OOR granted Burns' request for documentation explaining the nature of the problem. The county reiterated it has repeatedly said the mistake was due to a clerical error by a county worker who uploaded ballots to the system without the necessary marks. Officials said there was no malicious intent.
'The County has no issue with completing another search to answer questions which the County has already gone to great lengths in answering,' Repak stated.
The OOR has given the county 30 days to provide Burns with the relevant records or a sworn statement that they do not exist.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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