Both Republican county commissioners said Wednesday they have issues with the results of the 2020 election.

When asked if the commissioners trust the results of the election, Leslie Osche, board chairwoman, said she has concerns about the management of voter rolls and the tabulation of votes.

The commissioners are aware of issues and will make sure vote tabulation in Tuesday's election goes more smoothly than the 2020 tabulation now that they are aware of what to look for, Osche said.

Changes made to mail-in ballot regulations were implemented quickly before last November's general election, allowing for possible difficulties to make sure procedures were in place for a fair and ethical vote count, Osche said.

“We have to have confidence in the results. We will be working through the process with a different eye when it comes to tabulation,” Osche said.

She said the process requires patience, research and thinking, and the outcome matters locally and nationally.

“We cannot rush. We have to make sure we're confident in the process,” Osche said.

Commissioner Kimberly Geyer said their concerns are shared by other counties in the state and across the country.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel, a Democrat, said he trusts the results of the 2020 election.

Act 77 in Pennsylvania forced the county to implement changes “on the fly” and made 100% accuracy impossible, but casting doubt on the upcoming election the week before the election is “unfortunate timeliness, politically” for some people, he said.

The opposing views of the commissioners echoed those voiced by residents during the public comment period.

Clinton Champagne, of Butler Township, said he is pleased with the sanctity of the election, but disagrees with the current system for auditing results.

Ann Baker, of Butler Township, said the election was fair and called on the commissioners to end the divisiveness over the election by deciding on whether to have a forensic audit conducted.

“Be leaders here. It's gone on long enough,” Baker said.

Kelly Ulonska, of Adams Township, said a forensic audit should be conducted, and people should vote in the upcoming election.

A Harrisville resident said efforts to discredit the election and cast doubt on the election process endangers democracy.

Another resident said thousands of county ballots were lost and a scanner at one polling place was broken. He demanded that Osche and Geyer have a third party audit election results from a handful of precincts, which is one of the recommendations from the county Election Review Commission.

Steve Crawford, of East Butler, said there was fraud in the 2016 and 2020 elections. He said residents need a unified voice of Republicans and Democrats to ask the commissioners to take action.

Brian Lefever, of Butler, said a forensic audit is needed.

Carol McCarthy, of Jefferson Township, said she observed the 2020 election and is confident in its security.

As a member of the Election Review Commission, McCarthy said she watched Tuesday's testing of the voting machines that showed security measures recommended by the commission are in place.

“The system is clearly secure,” McCarthy said.

Catherine Lalonde, chairwoman of the Butler County Democratic Committee, said Act 77 became law when Republicans held the majority in the state Legislature, and no Republicans attended Tuesday's voting machine test.

“If you have a question about the last election, why should I vote now?” said Bernadette Laria, of Cranberry Township.

Laria said she has faith in the 2020 election and the upcoming election.

Fred Hensel, of Connoquenessing Township, said there is evidence of voting machine hacking, and an audit should be conducted.

Eric Edwards, of Penn Township, said the last election was fixed. He said electronic voting machines should be eliminated to avoid ballot manipulation.