Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvania secretary of state, resigns

FPI / February 3, 2021

The Pennsylvania Democrat secretary of state who was at the center of the disputed 2020 election in the state has resigned after failing to comply with state election law in the advertising of a constitutional amendment not related to the 2020 election.

According to reports, Kathy Boockvar bungled the handling of a constitutional amendment related to sexual abuse victims and their ability to sue alleged abusers.

Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf's office said in a press release: "Because of the error, the process to amend the constitution must now start from the beginning, unless the General Assembly pursues this initiative through the bill process."

Wolf's office stated: "Effective Feb. 5, Kathy Boockvar is leaving the administration following three years with the department, including two years as secretary of the commonwealth. The department is also immediately instituting new controls, including additional tracking and notifications of constitutional amendments, to ensure similar failings do not occur in the future. The governor has asked the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General to review the situation and make additional recommendations to improve the department’s process for handling constitutional amendments."

Boockvar, without approval from the state legislature, issued the decision to accept mail-in ballots three days after Election Day in November. The ballots were accepted without postmarks and without signature matches.

President Donald Trump was ahead of Joe Biden by nearly 700,000 votes on election night, but the changes instituted by Boockvar and Wolf allowed ballot counting to continue for several days after Nov. 3, allegedly giving Biden Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes.

The Trump campaign’s lawsuit against Pennsylvania is still pending before the Supreme Court.

Upon her resignation, Boockvar said: “I’ve always believed that accountability and leadership must be a cornerstone of public service. While I only became aware of the mistake last week, and immediately took steps to alert the administration to the error, I accept the responsibility on behalf of the department.”

Free Press International