Chester County Officials Mistakenly Leave Prothonotary Off Primary Ballot
When Chester County Democrats and Republicans go to the polls for the primary election on May 20, they won’t be able to vote on a candidate for county prothonotary.
Even though the former prothonotary, Democrat Debbie Bookman, resigned last October amid an investigation into financial irregularities, county officials somehow failed to include the prothonotary position on the primary ballot.
As a result, the two major parties — and not voters in a primary — will pick the nominees to face off in November’s general election.
A county row officer, the prothonotary serves as the chief clerk of the county’s Court of Common Pleas and is responsible for civil court documents and case filings.
County Chief Executive Officer David A. Byerman said the county legal staff had not included the prothonotary on the primary ballot.
“The error was realized well after the filing deadline and as ballot printing was getting underway,” said Byerman. “County staff brought this issue to the county commissioners (Wednesday) morning as soon as our legal research and internal deliberations confirming the error were complete.
“The commissioners unanimously agreed that the major county parties should be notified immediately. That same day, we convened a conference call with the chairs and solicitors of both the Republican and Democratic parties. We laid out the remedy, which is the same time-tested procedure we typically follow to fill unexpected municipal vacancies on the ballot.
“The major parties will determine their nominees through their own processes, and those candidates will appear on the fall general election ballot. The newly elected prothonotary will fill the remainder of Ms. Bookman’s term (two years),” Byerman said.
“Kristen Hume is currently serving as acting prothonotary and I brought her up to speed last night, well after the commissioners and party officials were notified. I have not asked her if she will be a candidate this fall.”
Chester County GOP chair Dr. Raffi Terzian confirmed the party was informed about the error.
“During a conference call yesterday with county officials, including Commissioner (Chair Josh) Maxwell, we were informed that the office of prothonotary should have been included on the ballot for this election cycle. The county acknowledged that a significant error was made by county officials and the county solicitor, who provided erroneous guidance regarding the disposition of the office of prothonotary. As a result, the position will now appear on the ballot in the upcoming municipal election in November, not on the primary ballot.
“They did not provide any information as to how this glaring error occurred, or when they first learned about it, or why they waited until yesterday to inform party representatives,” Terzian added.
Democrats control Chester County government, and the local Democratic Party was reluctant to criticize.
“A mistake was made,” Chester County Democratic Chairwoman Charlotte Valyo told DV Journal.
“The Board of Elections took responsibility for the error, acted immediately to inform both parties, and provided the information we need to solve the problem. The Chester County Democratic Committee is moving forward to nominate a candidate for the office of Prothonotary and work to elect that candidate.”
Byerman added, “This was a good-faith mistake, and mistakes sometimes happen. What’s as important is what happens next. We have worked to rectify this situation with integrity and fairness, and we’re on track to have a democratically elected successor this fall.”
