No Wrongdoing Found In Beaver Township Voting Machine Incident

A late Monday night voting equipment assessment in Beaver Township turned into a state police investigation after a local firefighter saw activity in the township hall.

According to police, the firefighter saw lights on at the hall and stopped to check, where he told police two women were allegedly taking apart a voting machine. Police responded and determined the women were township employees conducting official election business in preparation for the November 5 election.

According to Bay County Clerk Kathleen Zanotti, the women are the township clerk and deputy clerk, who are part time employees of the township only, which is why they were on the premises after hours. Zanotti says the women were conducting a preliminary accuracy test on a voting tabulator, required by the Clerk as soon as the election program and ballots are received.