Dem-aligned PACs mail fake Republican sample ballots in MontCo
A local political group supporting four Democratic candidates for the Perkiomen Valley School Board is intentionally attempting to mislead Republican voters according to Montgomery County Republican Committee (MCRC) Chair Christian Nascimento.
PV Forward, a political action committee, mailed out green sample ballots to some registered Republican voters with the oval blackened for the Democratic-endorsed school board candidates.
MCRC is deeply troubled by these actions and has filed suit against the group. A hearing is scheduled in Norristown on May 7, 2025, at 1:00pm. According to Nascimento, the Republican party is requesting the court grant relief in the following forms: issue a cease and desist order, destroy all remaining documents, issue a notice to all who received the fake sample ballots, and render the candidates ineligible to run for office.
“We just want free and fair elections,” said Nascimento. “This is a travesty and a blatant attempt to sow confusion in voters.”
The document, entitled “Perkiomen Valley Republican Sample Ballot,” is printed on green paper which Nascimento said the county Republican Party has used since the 1970s or ‘80s, and local Republican voters recognize this as the “official” party communication.
To compound the confusion, the fake sample ballot also lists some of the Republican-endorsed candidates for Judge. If Republican voters receive this mailing and check the first two names, Ann Marie Wheatcraft for Superior Court and Matt Wolford for Commonwealth Court, they will show as legitimately endorsed by the Republican Party.
If voters do not research the school board candidates listed on the fake sample ballot, they will have no way of knowing they are not actually endorsed by the Republican Party but, rather, by the Democratic Party.
Front side of the Perkiomen Valley mailer.
The school board candidates listed on the mock ballot include Kevin Williams, Cindy Westphal, Judy Lofton, and Ann Bridy — none of whom are registered Republicans or endorsed by the party.
In Pennsylvania, school board and judicial candidates are allowed to “cross-file” for purposes of the primary with the idea that these are supposedly non-political positions. Therefore, school board and judicial candidates can appear on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots. This anomaly is often confusing to voters who prefer to vote for a straight party.
PV Forward appears to be capitalizing on this confusion by sending out misleading, fake sample ballots, allegedly to Republican voters who requested mail-in ballots.
The back side of the mailer contains an “official notice,” and the disclosure shows it was paid for by PV Forward. It also refers to “the other two Republicans on the ballot,” further implying that all candidates are actual Republicans.
The actual Republican-endorsed school board candidates on the ballot are Jason Saylor and Russ Larson, in addition to write-in candidates Rowan Keenan and Don Fountain.
Saylor is a current Perkiomen Valley School Director and previously served as President. He is also dismayed by these attempts to mislead voters.
“I’m deeply disappointed that school board elections have devolved to the point where fake sample green ballots are being distributed to intentionally create confusion and undermine the candidacies of myself, Rowan Keenan, Don Fountain, and Russ Larson—the endorsed Republican candidates for Perkiomen Valley School District,” said Saylor. “This kind of dishonest, underhanded tactic is disgraceful, and those behind it should be ashamed. It’s exactly this kind of political gamesmanship that erodes public trust in the integrity of running for office.”
The actual Republican endorsed candidates.
According to Nascimento and Saylor, this is not an isolated incident. Similar tactics have been identified in other parts of the county, including Boyertown School District. This fake sample ballot was sent to Republican voters in New Hanover and also lists two of the Republican-endorsed judicial candidates, but then shows the registered Democrat, Lynne Conner, as the school board candidate. Conner is supported by a similarly-named group, Boyertown Forward.
A request for comment to the Montgomery County Democratic Committee was not immediately returned.
Both PV Forward and Boyertown Forward focus solely on school board elections and claim to have the best interests of their communities at heart. The core values of Boyertown Forward, according to their website, focus on diverse perspectives.
“Diverse ideas and perspectives result in effective teams. The make up of a School Board should reflect a wide variety of perspectives. School Boards are no place for political agendas.”
The PV Forward group claims on their website to be “members of the community and proud Perkiomen Valley parents!” Their mission includes “transparent communication and thoughtful engagement.”
“While our opponents focus on culture wars and political agendas, we will focus on what matters – education and building the brightest possible future for our students and community…. Transparent communication is essential for responsible decision-making. Thoughtful engagement with all stakeholders should include administration, staff, parents, students, and the broader community.”
Sending out misleading and possibly illegal sample ballots seems the antithesis of transparent communication, diverse perspectives, and thoughtful engagement. At the very least, this behavior is unethical, and at the worst, it is against the law.
Ultimately, the judge will rule on the legality in the courtroom, and the voters will determine if the actions were ethical at the ballot box.
Beth Ann Rosica resides in West Chester, has a Ph.D. in Education, and has dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of at-risk children and families. She covers education issues for Broad + Liberty. Contact her at barosica@broadandliberty.com.
If you sue them, discovery will probably lead to conversations these people had with their coconspirators to show conspiratorial intent. Remember when the Eastern District of New York convicted that Internet Meme Creator, Douglass Mackey, also known as “Ricky Vaughn”, for publishing false voting information? In my opinion, get these specific school board candidates and their coconspirators in jail; that will stop this type of criminal behavior. Don’t hold your breath thinking that will happen however. Now, if it was the Republicans doing this my guess is they would’ve already been arrested. The school board elections are the most important elections.
Any political mailing has to include the group that sent or paid for it. You already know who sent it it and it was Republicans who don’t agree with you. Same with the New Hanover one that has the names of the two Township Supervisor candidates who sent it right on there. Candidates and groups are free to send endorsements of who they think you should vote for. This is not fraud, it’s not a conspiracy, it’s nothing but normal political actions that happen every single election cycle. Get over yourselves and realize that some of these candidates like Saylor in PV and Zawada in Boyertown are so extreme that they scare even many Republicans.
These groups/people are reaching out to ALL voters and this is a criticism of them for it because the author cares only about Republicans and is mad that people THEY disagree with are reaching out to Republicans too. School board, judges, are supposed to be non-partisan positions. Anyone supporting candidates for those positions should absolutely be reaching out to all voters. Perhaps because of the logistical problem of independents not being able to vote in primaries (which is ridiculous they should be able to choose which party primary they want to vote in without having to join one party or the other) they might get ignored at this time, but anyone running for a non-partisan position that is focusing solely on their own party is someone who shouldn’t be elected to that position. Our elected officials represent ALL of us and that is especially important to recognize for positions that are non-partisan.
Perhaps the Dems figure out the only way to win is to CHEAT. What a shame!
If you don’t understand what”Sample Ballot” means, then you must be a Trump supporter.
HaHa. Typical smart ass answer when caught trying to LCS, lie, cheat, steal. Straighten up
and fly right.
Let’s talk about cheating;
63 lawsuits to overturn an election that had been lost.
Organizing an insurrection to prevent the peaceful change of power.
108 police officers were assaulted during the insurrection, only to have those same people pardoned.
A fake recount by Cyber NinJas that found more votes for Biden.
Presidential immunity, placing the President above the law.
Accepting a $500,000 airplane from a foreign government that will cost billions to retrofit and Trump gets to keep after he leaves office.
Heads of government agencies discussing compartmentalized and classified information on a non-secure app. And no one is fired.
If you still don’t understand what a “sample ballot” means then you are to simple to comprehend much of anything.