(Headline USA) Conservative commentator Wendy Bell revealed Monday that the administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is attempting to “silence voters” by ordering people who were potentially exposed to the coronavirus to stay home on Election Day.
In a Facebook post liked and shared thousands of times, Bell asserted that the state Department of Health has sent a letter to thousands of voters identified in its contact tracing program, informing them they they “must remain quarantined and not vote in person on election day.”
If they fail to obey the order, they face possible arrest.
“Do you believe the Wolf administration is attempting to silence voters—hours before the most important election in American history?” the post continued.
In a follow-up post that also generated thousands of shares and likes, Bell said the state health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, is “trying to keep thousands of Pennsylvania voters QUARANTINED on election day. This is BIG!!!” And in a Facebook broadcast Monday, she called it a “stunning, shocking twist.”
Pennsylvania’s left-wing officials sought to downplay the scandal, insisting it was a form letter to people who have been identified as a “close contact” of someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
However, many have blasted President Donald Trump for hosting massive rallies in the lead-up to Tuesday’s election, including three in Pennsylvania over the weekend, one of which included more than 50,000 attendees. Trump planned to return to the state again, including a visit to Democrat rival Joe Biden’s birthplace of Scranton.
Democrats have desperately tried to claim, using cherry-picked evidence, that the rallies result in mass spread of the disease, although in reality there has been no statistical correlation proven, with incidences of the virus decreasing in half of the cities examined.
The letter sent by the Wolf administration instructs the potentially exposed person to quarantine for 14 days, and it says the health secretary has the authority to seek a court order and call on law enforcement to ensure compliance.
But the form letter says nothing whatsoever about Election Day, and a health department spokesperson, April Hutcheson, said Monday that the department has never once taken legal action against any Pennsylvania resident for breaking quarantine.
The department wants people to abide by quarantine rules to prevent the spread of the virus, Hutcheson said, but “we cannot force or tell individuals they cannot vote in person.”
They pointed out that Pennsylvania has a workaround “emergency absentee ballot” for voters who intended to cast their ballot in person on Election Day, but who no longer can because of an unexpected illness or some other unforeseen emergency.
State law even requires a sheriff’s deputy or some other county official to deliver the balloting materials, under certain circumstances.
“Every Pennsylvanian who is registered to vote will have the opportunity to do so,” Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said in a written statement Monday.
However, the state already has faced widespread criticism for the efforts to delay crucial Election Day deadlines and otherwise loosen the laws in place to maintain election integrity.
Despite lawsuits—including one by the GOP-led legislature—to challenge the corrupt Democrats, courts have generally dismissed the challenges due to technicalities.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
