Less than a month before the May 19 primary election, Lehigh County remains without a chief clerk of elections and registrations, the head of the department that makes sure votes are collected and counted correctly.
After weeks of interviews, officials have narrowed the field of candidates down to four, with a vote on the final hire likely happening before the end of the month, according to Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel.
With Lehigh County’s position as a swing county in a swing state, the pressure is on to pick the right person.
“We know that we routinely have national and international eyes on us, and being home to the 7th Congressional District, we know that our region is going to determine the balance of power, not just in Congress but probably the state Senate as well. We are going to determine the balance of power in D.C. and Harrisburg,” Siegel said.
But, Siegel added, picking the right person takes time.
“We need to fill the role as quickly as possible, but we also want to pick someone who can step into the job and be ready on Day 1,” Siegel said. “And we want someone who will stay with the county for a long time and be able to provide leadership and expertise through multiple future election cycles.”
The former chief clerk of elections, Tim Benyo, held the post since 2010. He resigned in March to take a job with the Committee of Seventy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that focuses on issues affecting voters.
Benyo saw voters through some tumultuous times, including the pandemic, the rise of mail-in voting, major changes to Pennsylvania election law and lawsuits over drop boxes. Siegel said he set his replacement up for success.
“Tim built a really well-oiled machine and a pretty functional, well-trained office,” he said. “Whoever we appoint and task with filling that role is taking over, in my opinion, a very well-built ship, and now we just need a good captain who can continue to steer us steady.”
With Election Day in mind, applicants are being asked to describe their leadership style under pressure. That’s because the chief clerk of elections oversees 163 polling places and hundreds of poll workers during a day that starts at 5 a.m. and can last through midnight.
The new clerk will be the person people call when there are complaints of harassment or voter intimidation, if there aren’t enough translators available, if machinery breaks down, and when journalists have questions.
“It’s a high-pressure day. You need an elections director who is calm, cool, collected,” Siegel said. “Especially now, when elections are highly scrutinized. You need someone who can be that voice of assurance for people, that their votes counted, that their voice is being heard, that the process is fair, free and thorough. It’s a time when a lot of things can go wrong and when they do, it invites all kinds of scrutiny.”
In the leadup to the primary, the office is being overseen by acting Chief Clerk Brianna Negron. She said she is confident that her staff — who were busy preparing to send out mail-in ballots this week — were ready to handle the primary election, despite the vacancy in the head office.
“Everything is going smoothly. It’s business as usual,” Negron said.
The decision of who to hire for the position, which gets paid $74,880 annually, will be made by the three-member county Board of Elections. The chief clerk of elections is the one appointed position that the county executive can not unilaterally choose. The appointment will occur during a public meeting.