Barbalunga Campaign Says Election Post Was in Error
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Barbalunga campaign says a volunteer made the now deleted post on Facebook alleging that the state was "closely" watching primary voting in Pittsfield.
"Shortly after the post was made by our campaign volunteer, a campaign leader saw the post, and it was immediately removed, due to being technically inaccurate," the campaign responded on Thursday evening.
But the post had prompted City Clerk Michele Benjamin to issue a release rebutting "irresponsible false claims about the integrity of the voting process" on Thursday.
She did not identify which candidate made the post or when it was made.
The now-deleted post on sheriff candidate Alf Barbalunga's Facebook page read: "Please be advised the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Elections Division, is watching the Berkshire County District Attorney and Sheriff election closely, due to a lawsuit and multiple complaints of voter fraud, specifically in Pittsfield in 2019. The public is urged to report any and all evidence of voter fraud to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Elections Division."
Benjamin wrote that State Elections Division found no confirmed reports of violations of election laws by election officials in Pittsfield or that it was privy to any lawsuit.
"They did not receive 'multiple complaints of voter fraud in Pittsfield in 2019. They are not 'watching' the contests in the Berkshires because of issues in Pittsfield in 2019 and they are not 'watching' the elections in the Berkshires any differently than others," Benjamin wrote.
The reference was apparently to the allegations made by the Melissa Mazzeo campaign during the mayoral election in 2019. Mayor Linda Tyer's husband, Barry Clairmont, did file a lawsuit in Berkshire Superior Court against Mazzeo, saying she tried to defame him by alleging he had inappropriate proximity to the ballots.
Barbalunga, in his statement, said a poster on Planet Valenti, a local blog, claimed they were planning to vote multiple times for incumbent Sheriff Thomas Bowler and DA candidate Timothy Shugrue. The person said they could use the name and address of people they knew wouldn't vote.
Barbalunga said he had contacted the secretary of state's office to clarify the voting process, including when campaign committee members could be present for vote counting, and whether the clerk (whose husband is employed by Bowler) presented a coflict of interest, the prospects for voter fraud based on the anonymous vote.
He said he was satisfied with the responses.
He was unable to respond the post and Benjamin's press release immediately on Thursday because he was engaged in a forum on transparency on that evening.
"Unfortunately, what began as a sincere attempt to ensure the integrity of our elections is now another campaign distraction, while real campaign issues go unreported by the media, including issues discussed at Alf's forum tonight. We urge you not to fall for this tactic, and report the truth," he said. "A blog post contained a claim of intent to commit voter fraud and we alerted the State, so there would not be a possible repeat of the 2019 election dispute."
Editor's note: this article has been rewritten and updated with new information.
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