Butler County Commissioner Jim Eckstein on Wednesday filed a complaint alleging Commissioner Bill McCarrier violated the state election code by using voter rolls to survey seniors.

The complaint was filed with the county elections bureau, which is forwarding it to the county district attorney’s office.

Eckstein said he also is filing the complaint with the Pennsylvania Department of State.

He cited section 1404 under Title 25 of state elections law as indicating use of the voters’ registration list for nonspecified purposes, such as surveys about senior centers, is illegal.

“It’s pretty clear,” Eckstein said. “I believe Bill McCarrier is in full violation of state law with the net effect of violating our senior citizens’ rights.”

As a candidate in the May 19 primary, Eckstein said he obtained the registration list, but knows that he cannot use it for anything but campaigning.

According to the code, “No individual who inspects or who acquires names of registered electors from the list may use information contained in the list for purposes unrelated to elections, political activities or law enforcement.”

McCarrier, board chairman, referred all questions about the legality of using the list to county solicitor Mike English, who declined to comment.

Eckstein assigned blame to McCarrier because the chairman told elections bureau director Shari Brewer to release the list of voters to the county Area Agency on Aging.

Beth Herold, AAA administrator, previously said 4,800 people out of more than 38,000 county residents who are 60 and older were randomly selected.

The survey asks seniors about their use of senior centers and whether they support consolidating the 10 sites to a lesser number.

Eckstein said along with the illegality of using voter registration lists, he questions how AAA selected people to survey.

“Did they close their eyes and put their pen down,” he said. “Any survey you do has to have legitimacy or it’s worthless.”

Eckstein said the survey results would be tainted.

“They’re rigging the outcome,” he said. “It has no credibility in the county.”

He said his goal in filing the complaint is not to seek punishment for McCarrier, but to invalidate the surveys.

“I’d like to the have the process stopped,” Eckstein said.