Charges were filed against the election judge in Allentown’s 3rd ward on October 5th. Everett “Erika” Bickford was charged with two election code violations including prying into ballots.
The Morning Call reports the following:
Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin on Monday announced charges against an elections judge in Allentown’s 3rd Ward who was accused of tampering with ballots during the Democratic primary race for state representative between Enid Santiago and Peter Schweyer.
Everett “Erika” Bickford was charged with two election code violations: insertion and alteration of entries in documents, and prying into ballots, both misdemeanors.
Allentown, in Lehigh County in Pennsylvania is the focus of the song from Billy Joel in 1982, “Allentown“. The song was about the unemployed steel workers in the area. It looks like the city has changed over time.
The Morning Call continues:
During an interview with detectives, Bickford said she did not alter any ballots or change the voter’s choices, but admitted darkening some bubbles they chose, Martin said in a news release. She estimated that she darkened voters’ bubbles about 30 times, Martin said. Bickford also said she “trimmed” ballots’ jagged edges so the machine would accept them.
Bickford was not charged with altering or changing votes to favor either Schweyer or Santiago, who were vying for the Democratic nomination for the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s 22nd District.
