Even if the Butler County commissioners are not permitted inside polling places on election day, the two who did so in the May primary won’t face criminal charges.

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger has ruled out the possibility of commissioners Bill McCarrier and Dale Pinkerton facing any penalty for visiting polling sites in the southern half of the county.

“There’s not going to be criminal charges — I can tell you that — filed against anybody,” Goldinger said.

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who sent a June 5 letter to Goldinger about the issue, said he has no problem with Goldinger’s decision because his goal is to ensure the commissioners know they can’t do it again.

“You’re not allowed to be inside,” Metcalfe said.

He said it’s not just an issue in the county, but statewide.

Goldinger said he still must determine whether the commissioners have the right to enter polling places.

“There are two differing opinions on the election code,” he said.

Goldinger said he would contact the Pennsylvania Department of State to establish the intent of the law.

The election code refers to the duties of the county board, which is comprised by the county commissioners in years they don’t run for re-election.

According to section 302: “(g) To instruct election officers in their duties, calling them together in meeting whenever deemed advisable, and to inspect systematically and thoroughly the conduct of primaries and elections in the several election districts of the county to the end that primaries and elections may be honestly, efficiently, and uniformly conducted.”

Metcalfe pointed out the reference to inspections does not state they occur during the time frame people are voting.

He said when a provision of the code is vague, then a correct interpretation is obtained by reviewing the specific parts.

The election code differentiates between the county board and election officers, who are permitted inside polling sites.

Metcalfe, who is chairman of the House State Government Committee, said the idea is preventing voter intimidation or the appearance of impropriety.

McCarrier and Pinkerton disagreed with Metcalfe’s rationale.

“We are 100 percent allowed to do that,” Pinkerton said. “I don’t feel we did anything wrong.”

Shari Brewer, director of the county elections bureau, and county solicitor Mike English concur with the commissioners.

Metcalfe previously did the same thing as the commissioners — going inside a polling place where he is not registered to vote on election day.

Erma Mowry, the judge of elections for the Penn Township East polling site, said Metcalfe came in the voting room at the township municipal building one year to speak with election day workers.

“He wasn’t allowed in,” she said.

Before Metcalfe left, Mowry discreetly told him he was not permitted inside.

“He was very upset,” she said.

Mowry said Metcalfe, who was wearing a shirt with his name on it, claimed to have entered other polling sites without anyone else expressing any concerns.

Mowry said she chalked it up to Metcalfe being unfamiliar with the law at that time.

“It was an honest mistake,” she said.

Mowry said she did not think it was necessary to notify the county district attorney’s office or a constable about the transgression.

She did check with the county elections bureau director to ensure the correct action was taken by telling Metcalfe he could not enter a polling place where he was not eligible to vote.

Mowry was assured she was correct.

She did not bring up the incident again until reading that Metcalfe contacted Goldinger about the commissioners’ alleged infraction.

Metcalfe said he learned about these provisions of the election code after becoming the chairman of government committee several years ago.

“I’m more than 10 feet away,” he said about how close he is to the entrance of a polling place.

Metcalfe and his staff researched the election code extensively after there were complaints across the state, including United Nations observers going inside polling places a couple years ago.

McCarrier questioned Metcalfe’s motives for contacting Goldinger.

“I can’t say Daryl is being a hypocrite,” McCarrier said. “I think he’s being political, in our case. He knows we’re allowed inside. This got him some headlines.”

Pinkerton agreed.

“What we did was right,” he said. “Unfortunately for us, Daryl Metcalfe has his own rules and regulations, and he believes none of them apply to him. He just wants his name out in the paper. I have to believe he has to know better.”

Metcalfe said his concerns are not a personal position, just seeking enforcement of the law.

“This shows the arrogance of the two county commissioners,” he said in response to the commissioners’ comments.

Metcalfe stressed his letter went to Goldinger, not the media. Commissioner Jim Eckstein broached the topic at a county meeting last week.

Eckstein said the commissioners’ poll visits were wrong even if they turn out to be legal.

“It looks very poor,” he said. “It looks unethical.”

Eckstein said he has the same goal as Metcalfe.

“I don’t want criminal charges either,” Eckstein said. “I want the shenanigans to stop.”

Mowry, who has worked county elections for more than 40 years, has no issue with county commissioners coming into her site.

“It’s nothing out of order,” she said.

Mowry said during her lengthy stint working the polls, commissioners always check on how election day is going.

On May 20, Mowry talked with the two commissioners inside the voting room.

“They did come in,” she said. “They thanked us all for working.”

Mowry said she and the other poll workers appreciated the visit because the commissioners expressed their gratitude and asked if they needed anything.

“They did what every board did,” she said.

Mowry pointed out the commissioners did not talk about any candidates running in the primary.

Metcalfe questioned why the commissioners went to the precincts in his district when he was running for re-election rather than other areas of the county.

“It’s just kind of interesting,” he said.

McCarrier previously said the election day visits are rotated among the different areas of the county.

On May 20, Metcalfe fended off the challenge of write-in candidate Gordon Marburger, husband of county Treasurer Diane Marburger.

Metcalfe said he initially wanted to keep the discussion restricted to the law, but McCarrier and Pinkerton’s actions are suspect considering they endorsed Marburger.

“They’re both on record,” Metcalfe said.

In some campaign ads and literature, Marburger’s campaign used quotes from McCarrier and Pinkerton about Metcalfe’s alleged inaction on transportation issues.