These Pennsylvania Election Officials Are Pro-Trump Conspiracists

In battleground Pennsylvania, dozens of election officials are pro-Trump election deniers, ready to cause chaos

October 29, 2024 | Justin Glawe | RollingStone

Alyssa Fusaro believed that two Latina women working in the Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, elections office the day after the November 2022 election were throwing away ballots. She went to a nearby desk, made a phone call, and allegedly called one of the women a racial slur. The women “were incredibly distraught and were sobbing,” said one of 13 witnesses who spoke to county lawyers about the incident, which was reported by the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader and other local press. Several witnesses said Fusaro was being aggressive with election staff over a shortage of paper for ballots.

Fusaro, an appointed member of the county election board, denies she used the racial slur. She told county attorneys that she “was extremely kind” to the two women. Brian Thornton, the vice chair of the Luzerne County Council, dismissed the claims made by witnesses in the report, saying no “evidence surfaced which could collaborate [sic] the allegations.” After Fusaro was briefly considered for removal by the Luzerne County Council, the measure was tabled thanks to Thornton and the council’s other Republican members.

Like Fusaro, six of the seven Republicans on the council are election deniers. Fusaro remains on the election board as Nov. 5 approaches, and Pennsylvania looks to be the most important battleground state in the country. Fusaro did not respond to a request for comment, nor did county attorneys. Fusaro twice refused to certify the results of the 2022 election, questioning whether it had been “free and fair.” On Facebook, Fusaro has claimed that the 2020 election was stolen by Democrats, and she praised rules passed by the Georgia State Election board that gave Fusaro’s Peach State counterparts more authority to refuse to certify election results. She is not an anomaly. …