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DA: Use of voter rolls no code violation

Eckstein
Eckstein says he'll pursue complaint

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger on Thursday determined voter rolls can be used to survey people about senior center use.

“There is no violation,” Goldinger said.

According to Goldinger, county Commissioner Jim Eckstein’s complaint that the state election code was violated by using voter rolls is not valid.

“The list was used in an appropriate manner,” Goldinger said.

Eckstein alleged fellow Commissioner Bill McCarrier broke state law by telling the county elections bureau to let the county Area Agency on Aging use the list of voter names.

Under state law, a list of registered voters can only be used for a limited number of purposes.

Goldinger said political activities are an acceptable reason.

He said among the definitions of that term in the dictionary is anything pertaining to the conduct of government, which would include what was done with the voters’ names.

AAA is surveying residents as part of an effort to maximize services in the face of decreasing attendance at senior centers.

Eckstein opposes one proposal for consolidating the number of centers to as few as two. There are 10 sites now.

Although Eckstein was not surprised by Goldinger’s decision, he disagrees with it.

“If he was right, Jane Orie should not be in jail,” Eckstein said, referring to the former state senator’s conviction for wrongly using her state-funded staff to do campaigning and fundraising.

Orie spent 20 months in state prison following her 2012 conviction.

Eckstein said the definition of political activities is debatable, citing how the IRS defines it.

According to 734.101 of the U.S. code: “Political activity means an activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office or partisan political group.”

Eckstein said Goldinger should have deferred the case to the state.

“There was a conflict of interest,” Eckstein said.

He said McCarrier is one of the officials on the county salary board, which makes staffing and salary decisions on Goldinger’s office.

Goldinger said Eckstein’s assessment is erroneous because McCarrier would not be the person subject to prosecution.

According to Goldinger, the person using the voter rolls, not the one who authorized their use, is held liable.

He said anybody, including Eckstein, who files a complaint doesn’t determine who and what is investigated by his office.

“He doesn’t control who we’re investigating,” Goldinger said.

McCarrier said the outcome wasn’t unexpected.

“I never thought there was anything done wrong in the first place,” he said.

McCarrier said Eckstein should not have filed the complaint.

“He should have checked the law more carefully,” McCarrier said.

He accused Eckstein of needlessly expending county resources for an unjustified claim.

“Look at the wasted money,” McCarrier said.

Goldinger declined to comment on whether Eckstein wasted his office’s time.

Beth Herold, AAA administrator, said she was glad the matter has been put to rest.

“I’m grateful,” Herold said.

Eckstein said he would follow up on his notification to the Pennsylvania Department of State, which has the option of looking into the matter.

Although the state attorney general’s office is authorized to prosecute alleged violations, it may refer such cases back to the respective county’s district attorney.

Eckstein said if Goldinger believes McCarrier did nothing wrong, then that opens the door.

“I’m going to follow his lead,” Eckstein said.

He vowed to use the voter rolls to spur senior center use.

Goldinger said he was unsure whether it was permissible for Eckstein to do so.

“We’d have to look at it if somebody makes a complaint,” Goldinger said.

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