Elections officials in Delaware County, Pennsylvania were caught ripping 2020 election tapes "into pieces" and "placing them into the trash stating they will have a campfire to burn the data," according to a lawsuit filed last month.
The lawsuit against former Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, Delaware County, the Delaware County Board of Elections, and more than a dozen individual election officials, was filed after whistleblower video purported to show Delaware County election officials destroying records from the November 2020 general election.
The complaint was filed by Delaware County residents Ruth Moton, Leah Hoopes, and Gregory Stenstrom, as well as the Friends of Ruth Motion campaign.
The lawsuit states that the defendants sought “to prevent the discovery of the fraudulent results of the November 3, 2020 election" and in the process violated state and federal election laws.
Related: Whistleblower releases video of Pennsylvania county election officials destroying ballots, evidence, November 18, 2021
"When coupled with the videos," the lawsuit "may finally awaken the sleeping masses to the cause of election integrity," Margot Cleveland wrote for The Federalist.
The lawsuit points to three videos in which it contends election officials discuss destroying data.
According to people with knowledge of the lawsuit, the first video captures a conversation between James Allen, the Director of Election Operations for Delaware County, and Jim Savage, identified by Delaware County’s directory as the Chief Custodian/Voting Machine Warehouse Supervisor.
Allen is heard telling Savage, “Then get rid of the pads and the second scanners.”
“We can’t talk about it anymore,” Savage replies, with Allen questioning, “Why?” “It’s a felony,” Allen countered.
In the second video, the whistleblower films a conversation with Delaware County official James Ziegelhoffer. Ziegelhoffer, also known as Ziggy, held the position of “Judge of Election” for the Western Precinct in the Media Borough.
An unnamed source is heard saying in the video: "Why would you throw anything away? Because you have to save it for 22 months,” a reference to federal retention mandates.
“Yes there are tapes that are being tossed,” Ziggy acknowledges, but adds, “they are of no audit value.”
A third video captures a man identified by individuals with knowledge of the lawsuit as a Delaware County lawyer, Tom Gallager. As Gallager tears the tapes from the voting machines and discards them, the whistleblower can be heard asking: “Tom, why do you have to rip it up? Makes you feel better?”
“At this point,” Gallager replies, “I don’t want anybody to pick it up, and thinking we threw stuff away.”
“We’re gonna have a little campfire going,” Ziggy adds.
Cleveland noted that the videos are still not likely to "be enough for those so blinded by their distaste for Trump that they cannot see the real threat to our democracy: elections without integrity and an electorate unable to trust the official outcome."
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